Khasta Gaja

Celebrating Holi with ‪#‎homemade‬ Khasta Gaja ( A famous traditional sweet of ‪#‎Odisha‬)...

All purpose flour/ Maida- 1cup
Atta/ whole wheat flour-1/2 cup
Desi Ghee/ melted butter - 1/4th cup
Curd - 2tblsp
Soda -1/4 tsp
saunf/ fennel seeds- 1tblsp
Refined oil-  to deep fry
Salt a pinch

For sugar Syrup :
Sugar- 1 ½  cup
Water- 1 cup
Cardamom powder -1/4 tsp

Method :

Mix maida, atta and ghee, then rub the mixture thoroughly in ghee for 8-10 min. Now, add curd, salt & soda to it and mix. 
Make stiff dough and cover it and keep aside in a cool place for 15 min. 
Now make the sugar syrup till it reaches a two-string consistency

After a while, knead the dough again. make two balls. Roll the dough and form a log. I made two small logs. Now slice the dough into slightly thicker slices as shown in pic. with a sharp knife. let the sides of the pieces little bit rough so that while frying,  oil can go inside .

Take a kadai/ pan and heat  oil for deep frying; the oil should not be more hot..then put the gaja into the oil one after another.

Fry it at low - medium flame and Turn the pieces when they will float in oil..now fry the gajas till they become golden brown in color. It may take 8-19 mins to fry.
Repeat the same for all pieces.
Drain the pieces,
and then put the gajas into the sugar syrup. Allow to soak for 10-15 minutes.

Remove and keep on a plate to drain excess syrup. Now your khasta gaja is ready to serve. You can store it for 1-2 wks in a airtight container.

Mango Mousse‬

A Easy- to- prepare- treat
Insanely delicious!!!! It can b Prepared in no time and of course A good option for eleventh hour guests..

Mango Mousse

‪‎Alphansho‬ Mango Pulp 1 can
1 can condensed milk
whipped cream 1 1/2 cups

Mix all in a big bowl. Now beat for 2-3 mins. You can add cardamom powder if you want. You can add mix fruits, roasted nuts if u want to.. 
Your Mango mousse is ready. This creamy Mango Mousse treat is sure to satisfy any sweet tooth.

‎Schezwan‬ ‪‎Chiili Chicken‬

Garam Garam ‪#‎Panfried‬ ‪#‎schezwan‬ ‪#‎ChiiliChicken‬ ..Anybody??
‪#‎easytomake‬
‪#‎Healthy‬
‪#‎Chicken‬

Ingredients:

For Marination:
Boneless Chicken - 250 grams Cubed
Pepper Powder - 1 tsp (If you have schezwan pepper use that)
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp
red chilli powder- 1tsp
Salt to taste
Soya sauce - 1 tblspn
tomato ketchup- 1 tblsp
Cornflour / Cornstarch - 3-4 tblspn
Besan/ Gram flour- 2 tblsp
For sauce
Schezwan Sauce - 2-3 tblsp
2-3 dried red chillies
1tblsp Minced Ginger and garlic
onion, Green and red bellpeppers cut in cubes
1tblsp soy sauce
chilli flakes as per taste
Water - 3-4 tblspn
Oil 4-5 tblsp
chopped Scallion 2-3 tblsp
sugar- 1tsp
chopped Coriander leaves for garnishing

Method:

Marinate chicken with all the marination ingredients. Mix well and let it sit for 30-35 mins.
Heat 3-4 tblsp oil in a non stick pan and pan fry the chicken for 4-5 mins till golden and completely cooked. Drain on a paper towel.
Now in the same frying pan add dried red chillies, minced Ginger, garlic, onion, bell peppers and saute for a min or two.
Add in schezwan sauce, soy sauce, chilli flakes, salt to taste, sugar and Mix well.
Now add in the chicken pieces and sprinkle a little water and toss well in the sauce to coat the chicken.
Now add chopped scallions and coriander leaves and mix well.
Serve hot with fried rice or noodles .

Gulab Jamun with Bisquick Mix

A simple and easy way to make these yummy gulab jamuns with the pan cake mix/ Bisquick Mix. Hope you like the recipe.

Ingredients:

Bisquick or Pancake mix 1 Cup 

 Milk Powder 2 Cups

 Butter slightly melted: 1/4 Cup

Milk: 2 Tablespoons

Cardamom powder: 1/2 teaspoon

1.5 cups sugar for sugar syrup

Oil for deep frying

Method


Knead the dough using bisquick Mix, milk powder, melted butter and milk. Dough should be soft to hard but not sticky.
Divide into equal portions and shape into 1" diameter. These should have no cracks on the surface as otherwise the gulab jamuns will crack while frying.

For sugar syrup in a large pan, dissolve the sugar in 2 cups of water and bring to a boil.
Take sugar and water in a sauce pan, bring it to boil. Simmer it for 5 to 8 mins till it gets little sticky. Dont need for the syrup to reach 1 string.
.
Remove any impurities which float on top of the syrup using a  spoon.
Add  cardamom powder and keep the syrup warm.

Heat oil in a kadai. Add the balls.Deep fry on low-mediumheat till golden in colour. 

Drain and immerse in the warm sugar syrup. Soak for atleast 1 hour.

Samosa from Kawan Paratha

Samosas are yummy snacks/appetizers to have but often not considered a regular option to prepare at home mainly because of efforts required. If you ever thought about preparing it but gave up thinking its tough then here is a relatively easy way. The trick is, use ready made frozen parathas (ex: Kawan is one of the known brand here in US) as your outer samosa layer. So all you need is prepare the stuffing. Thaw the frozen parathas for few mins, cut them into half or quarter pieces based on your intended somosa size, fill the stuffs and you are ready for baking or you can deep fry it too. 

So here is the recipe.. Hope you like the recipe.

Ingredients:
2-3 potatoes boiled
1 carrot chopped
green peas a handful
1 tblsp gingergarlic crushed
1/4cup chopped onion
2-3 green chillies chopped
fresh curry leaves 
red chilli powder 1tsp
cumin-coriander powder 1tsp
roasted fennel seeds powder a pinch
garam masala 1 tsp
turmeric powder-a pinch
amchur powder as per your taste
oil 2 tblsp
1tsp cumin-mustard seeds
salt to taste
chopped coriander leaves
Frozen khawan parathas (4-5)

method:

Microwave carrots for 2 min and peas for 1 min. Roughly mash the boiled potatoes. 
Heat oil in a pan. Splutter cumin-mustard seeds.
Add chopped onion, green chilli, curry leaves to it. Saute till onions are translucent. Add crushed ginger garlic. saute for 2-3 min till raw smell goes away. 
Add turmeric powder, fennel seeds powder, cumin-coriander seeds powder , garam masala, amchur powder and salt. 
Saute it and now add boiled potatoes, peas and carrots. Mix well. saute for 8-10 min in a low flame till masalas are well coated with veggies. sprinkle some coriander leaves and your masalas are now ready for samosa stuffing. let it cool for some time.

Preheat oven to 350 F .

Cut paratha into half, place filling at one side and fold like a pastry, use a fork or knife to press the edges to  seal.

Brush  melted butter/ milk over pastry.
Bake for 15 -18 minutes or until golden brown.  I baked them for 15 mins and broil them for 2 min for nice golden color. 

Your samosa is ready to devour with ketchup or sweet tamarind chutney.

Raj Kachori Chaat

Chaat is a type of mouth watering and popular roadside snack all over India. Raj Kacohri Chaat is made of crispy kachoris garnished with a delicious combination of potatoes, sprouts, chickpeas, yogurt, coriander leaves, sev and flavored with spices and red & green chutneys. Longtime back I had the opportunity to have Raj kachori chat @ Mayfair BBSR. I have tried it @ many other places but they couldn't match my 1st experience. So I thought of preparing it in my kitchen & it turned out well. Crunchy, tangy, hot and sweet flavors combine to make Raj kachori Chaat delicious to eat as a snack...

Ingredients:
1 Cup maida / all purpose flour
1/2 cup sooji / rawa/ semolina
2 tblsp melted ghee/ oil
Salt
Water to knead dough

 for stuffingBesan - 100g
a pinch hing
1/4 tsp mango powder
salt

 To serve You need:

1 onion chopped
2 tomatoes chopped
 2 large  Potatoes
chopped green chilies
 1 Cup curd + 2tblsp sugar (Mix well)
1/2 cup sprouted Moong dal boiled
1/2 cup boiled chickpeas
1 handfull fried peanuts
1-2 tsp Roasted cumin powder
2tsp chat masala
 1 tsp Red chilli powder
Date and Tamarind chutney as required
green chutney as required
1/2 Cup thin sev
chopped coriander Leaves

Note: You can adjust the ingredients according to your taste


How to make Raj Kachori:

Mix sooji, maida,ghee & salt. Mix well and keep for 5-10 mins like this . Now prepare a tight dough by sprinkling water little by little. Keep covered under a wet muslin cloth for half an hour. 
Mix besan, hing, mango powder,1tsp oil ,a little red chilli powder (or u can put chilly flakes) & salt & keep aside for stuffing.

After halfa an hour apply little  oil in your hands & knead the dough well.  Divide the dough into equal parts. Roll out into puris of equal size and fill  prepared besan stuffs seal it from all edges & Roll with rolling pin. Deep fry it turning sides till evenly colored. The Kachori should be crisp make sure to fry the kachori on low flame.

 Boil potatoes and cut it into cubes.
At the time of serving just break the kachoris and fill it with cube potatoes, boiled chickpeas, moong sprouts, fried peanuts, sweet curd, red chilli powder, cumin seeds powder, chaat masala ,chopped onion, tomatoes, green chilli, chopped coriander leaves,tamarind chutney and green chutney as needed.  Sprinkle some sev on it.
TADAAA... Raj Kachori is now ready to serve. 

‬ Quinoa and blackbeans salad

Ingredients:

1 cup Quinoa

1 cup boiled black beans ( soaked for 5-6 hours and boiled)

1/4th cup sliced almonds and walnuts

1/4th cup dried cranberries

salt as per taste

1tsp cinnamon powder

black pepper to taste

cumin powder 1tsp

1 bay leaf

1cup chopped bell peppers

1 cucumber peeled and chopped

cherry tomatoes or a medium size tomato chopped

around 2tblsp chopped spring onions

2tblsp EVOO

Method:

Heat a pan on medium heat. Slight toast the almonds and walnuts till golden. Add the quinoa and toast a few more minutes till brown in color. Now add 2 cups of water to it. Adjust salt, Add cumin powder, cinnamon powder, bay leaf, dried cranberries. Cover and cook for 15-20 min till the quinoa is tender but still chewy and white spiral-like threads appear around each grain. Now mix the black beans..mix well. let it cool. 

In a serving bowl add chopped bell peppers, tomato, cucumbers, green onions sprinkle some black pepper and at last add 1tsp EVOO..mix well and Enjoy....