No Bake Choco Ribbon Cake

In my mother's place we have been making this no bake choco cake ever since I remember. It is a rich yummy moist and we as kids liked it a lot.The beauty of this is that it is absolute easy and takes hardly anytime and almost zero ingredients...I never thought I would post this on my blog unless I came across the event at Aparna's blog which sounded super exciting and I decided to make this today. My 4 year old and his friends absolutely loved this. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

ParleG/Glucose Biscuits - 10 pcs
Chocolate Powder - 4tbsp
Powdered Sugar - 3tbsp
Butter - 2tbsp
Whipped Fresh cream - 1/4 cup
Milk - 4tbsp
Tutti fruity/Nuts for decoration



Method

Take one biscuit and dip it in the milk
Remove from milk and place on a plate
Dip another biscuit and place it over the first biscuit vertically
Repeat this till all the biscuits are placed on top of one another
Lay it down horizontally, it should look like a loaf
Now mix the powdered sugar, cream, chocolate powder and butter to form a smooth mixture
Spread this mixture evenly over the biscuit log.
Sprinkle the tutti fruity/nuts over this
Set in the refrigerator for 1/2 hour to 1 hour
Take out and cut into pieces just before serving

Fish Head in Chana Dal

I had never known of this kind of ghonto but on my trip home this time, learnt this from a friend. When I tried this I just fell for it all over again. SoI decided to share this one.


Muri Ghonto (Dal/Lentil version)

Ingredients-
Fish head
Split gram dal - 1 cup
Onions - 1 large (made into a paste)
Cloves -4
Green Cardamoms - 4
Green Chilly - 2
Garam Masala/ Hot Spice Mix - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder -1 tsp
Salt to tast
Ghee


Method
Mix the fish head with garlic paste, salt and turmeric and deep fry in oil
In a pressure cooker, cook the chana dal till done
Heat 1 tbsp of ghee in a kadahi/wok
Add the cloves and cardamoms to the oil
When they start spluttering, add the onion paste
Fry till onion changes color to pink
Add the fish head to this
Use the spatula to lightly break the fish
Fry for a while and add the Chana Dal and green chilly
Cover and let it simmer for a while.
Add the garam masala and let it cook for some more time
Remove from heat when the aroma of fish starts filling you
Add 1 -2 tsp of ghee and serve with rice/roti
It is a perfect comfort food and gets done real quick

Paneer Tikka

The foodie that I am and the love for non veg food never made me realise how tempting can vegan food get at times. Long time back it just happend once that I was on a strict vegetarian diet regime and was to attend a dinner. Not knowing what exactly would be best to eat I thought of trying most things brought to the table.
The Paneer Tikka they served was out of the world...and here I was next day in the office, googling paneer tikka recipes and not working. I landed upon this recipe and took a print. It lay there in my recipe file since then waiting to be made..until I upon the event here.



However the recipe has changed as I am bad at following instructions to the point. Here is the paneer tikka recipe I made tonight. I made it in the OTG I use for all barbeque items.

Ingredients

Paneer -250 gms
Capsicum - 1
Onion - 1
Red chilly Powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Curd -1/2 cup
Fresh cream - 1/4 cup
Ginger paste - 2 tsp
CuminPowder - 1 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Lemon Juice
Salt to taste



Cut and cube the paneer and set aside
Cut the Capsicum and onions into cubed pieces
For the marinade: mix the curd, cream, coriander cumin chilly , turmeric powder, salt and ginger paste.
Dice in the paneer, capsicum and onions
Add the lemon juice
Leave to marinade for 3-4hours

To make the tikkas:
Preheat the oven
Add the paneer, onion and capsicum on skewers
Roast at 150 degrees
Remove from the skewers
Sprinkle some chat masala/tandoori masala
Serve hot with coriander chutney

One big change I did in the recipe is that it called for potatoes and well as bread slices, I chucked those. I didnt do it in the girddle as the recipe asks to but did it on the skewers like I do the chicken tikka or boti kebabs. The result was delicious melt in the mouth paneer tikkas.
The following is the book marked page:

Prawns

Fried Prawns

Ingredients:

Prawns - 1/2kg
Eggs - 2
Cornfour - 1tbsp
Ginger Garlic Paste - 4 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1tsp
Red Chilly Powder - 2tsp
Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
Juice of 2 lemons/ or 2 tsp vinegar
Salt to Taste
Oil for frying



Method:

Wash and clean the prawns
Add all the ingredients except oil to the prawns and mix well.
Leave to marinade for 1 to 2 hours
Heat oil in a pan
Roll the prawns in the bread crumbs and deep fry on medium heat
Remove from heat
Sprinkle Tandoori masala (optional)
Serve with Onion slices and chutney

Murir Ghonto (Fish Head Rice)

Muri Ghonto


This recipe was passed on to me by a friend a couple of years back and I had made it then. However, I lost the recipe but did remember the method. I thought of giving this a try a few days back and it came wonderfully tempestuous. Here is what I did

Ingredients

Head of 2 rohu fish
Rice - 1 cup
Onions - 2 med sized
Ginger Garlic Paste - 2 tsp
Bay Leaf - 2
Cloves - 4
Green Cardamoms- 2
Chilly Powder - 1 tsp
Green Chilies - 2 slit
Turmeric - 1tsp
Salt to taste
Ghee- 2 tsp
Oil for frying

Wash the rice
Now clean the fish head and rub a little salt and turmeric
Grind onions to paste

For the rice:
Heat ghee in a pan
Add the rice and fry till the rice changes color to pinkish gold
Set aside

For the fish:
Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the fish head
Remove from heat

For the ghonto:
In the remaining oil crackle the bayleaves, cloves and cardamoms
Add the onion paste
Fry for a while till onion turns pink
Add the ginger garlic paste
Now add the fish head to this
Break the fish head while frying
Add the rice and fry for sometime
Add water and cover and cook
Remove from stove once the rice is done
Add a spoonful of ghee before serving

Cheesy Macaroni

Ingredients:

Macaroni- 250 gms
Grated Cheese - 1 cup
Milk - 1 Cup
Beans- 100 gms(chopped)
Capsicum- 1 (chopped)
Carrot - 1(chopped)
Onion - 1(chopped)
Cornflour - 2 tbsps or maida - 1 tbsp
Butter -2 tbsps
Refined oil - 2 tbsps
Red Chilly - 1 tsp
Salt to taste

Method

Prepare white sauce:

Heat butter in pan
Add the cornflour/maida to it and fry till golden
Add milk to this stirring continuously
Add 1/2 cup fo grated cheese
Add a pinch of salt and pepper

For the macaroni:

Boil water in a vessel and add Oil and salt to the boiling water
Add the macaroni and stir for 2 mins (approx)
Drain excess water
Let the macaroni cool

Now heat oil in a pan
Add the cut veggies(onions, capsicum, beans and carrots)
Add salt and pepper
Stir in the macaronis
Mix well and add the white sauce
Add the remaining cheese over it and remove from heat

Aloo Posto

This a typical recipe from the state of West Bengal. My association with them have been from the state I grew up in. Especially the city of Jamshedpur although a part of Jharkhand has a very mixed culture and who does but not like the food from the neighbours kitchen as a kid. So did I and so here is the recipe for my all time fav

Bread Roll

In my continuous endeavor to make something delicious and filling yet healthy for my kid who is fond of everything but food,I made the bread roll the other day. All things mashed makes him not realise what's goes in it like any of the green veggies, most often not liked. A lot of mashed potato actually take over the taste of most greens. This is an easy and quick to make recipe.

Ingredients

Bread Slices - 4
Boiled Potatoes - 2
Beans - 4-5
Spinach leaves - 1 small bunch (approx 4-5)
Carrots - 1
Onion - 1 (small)
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp
Black Pepper Powder - a pinch
Turmeric powder- a pinch
Salt to taste
Oil for frying





Method

For the filling:

Cut the vegetables i.e. beans, spinach and carrot
In a pressure cooker boil all of the vegetables by adding a little salt and sprinkling some water
Remove from heat and drain excess water in a pan
Leave the vegetables till the water is completely drained off
Mash the potatoes and vegetables
Finely chop the onions

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a kadahi
Fry the onions till translucent
Now add the mashed vegetables
Add all the spices including salt aand turmeric powder
Fry for a sometime till the veggies look done

For the Rolls:

Take the bread slices and soak in the drained water from the veggies
Take the bread and press with both palms
Take a small ball of the filling and place it on the bread
Roll the bread over the filling into oval shapes
Repeat with all the bread slices




Frying:
Heat oil in a heay bottomed pan
When the oil is hot add the bread rolls to it
Fry gently over medium heat till the rolls turn golden

Serve with Sauce/Coriander Chutney

Banana Eggless Cake

Ingredients

Flour/Maida - 2 cups
Sugar - 1 cup
Butter - 1 cup
Bananas - 2 (over ripe preferable)
Baking Powder - 1tsp
Edible Soda - 1/2tsp
Milk - 1/2 Cup

Method

Mix all the dry ingredients together i.e flour, baking powder and soda
Mix the butter, milk and sugar together
Mash the bananas and add to the above mixture
Slowly add the flour mix to this and whip for a while
The batter should look well blended


Baking
Preheat the oven at 250 degrees
Grease a cake pan and pour the batter
Set the oven temp to 180 degrees and bake for 20 mins
I am sending this to the event here

Eggless Chocolate Muffins

Eggless Choco Chip Muffins
The recipe was passed to me by a friend and I instantly fell in love with the result. This is the easiest of all the baking recipes I have dried so far and gets done in a jiffy. With most of the eggless cake recipes I have tried so far, I have always had to use ingredients (like buttermilk, condensed milk etc)which I needed especially for the purpose and would need to check in advance. Howeer,the best thing about this recipe is that you do not need any additional ingredients for this muffin/cake and can be made with what is always available in the kitchen. I made this in my OTG which is very commonly used for baking purposes in most Indian homes.

Ingredients
Flour/Maida - 2 Cups
Sugar(Powdered) - 1 Cup
Butter - 125g (measures a little over 1 cup when melted)
Milk - 1 Cup
Cocoa Powder - 1tbsp
Honey - 1tbsp
Edible Soda - 1 tsp

Method
In a pan melt the butter on very low heat.
Let it cool for some time and add the honey and milk.
Stir this mixture well
Now combine all the dry ingredients together i.e maida, cocoa powder, soda and sugar
Blend the dry items gently
Now fold in the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients
Mix for a while and yippy you are done with the cake batter
Grease the muffin moulds and add the batter
I added chocochips to a few just before placing in the oven

Baking
While you prepare the above ingredients set the oven to 250 degrees
to preheat
Reduce the temp to 180 degrees and place the muffin moulds
Bake for around 25 mins
Check to see if it is done by inserting a knife in the centre
If the edges turn out clean, the muffins are done
Let it stand for a cuple of minutes
The muffins come out as soon as you turn the mould upside down
The result is an absolute soft and fluffy muffin and a must try
Serve this while still hot from the oven
An ideal breakfast for kids and I bet they would love it

Sending this for the Cooking for Kids - Filling Breakfast Event at Bhagyashree's blog which started here.

And it was that Day!!

The day finally arrived. My little one went to school today. Wasn’t this the day I had been waiting for? I wasn’t very sure anymore!
I was watching him get onto the bus. He looked so matured in the school uniform. Did the change happen overnight or did I fail to notice it before? I shooed away my thoughts. I was just a little overwhelmed perhaps!
As I waited at home to see him come back, I wondered if it’s a common feeling for all parents. When your child leaves the confinement of home and starts school, you are left with so many varied thoughts.
The wait seemed long. I had probably reached the Bus Stop quite ahead of time. And then, there he was - happy and overjoyed!
With the first day of his school gone by, I was sure there would be many more such moments. Brimming with pride I told myself, “He is a big boy now!”

Malai Kofta Curry

Ingredients

For the Koftas
Paneer - 250gms
Potatoes - 2 medium sized boiled
Flour/Maida - 3 Tbsps
Salt as per taste
Refined oil for Frying
Mixture of chopped cashews and raisins

For the Gravy

Cashews - 10 (soaked in water)
Khuskhus - 3Tbsp (soaked in water)
Tomatoes - 4 (pureed or blended in mixer)
Cinnamon/Dalchini - 2 sticks (finely crushed)
Mace/Javitri - 1 (finely crushed)
Coriander Powder - 2 tsps
Jeera Powder -1/2 tsp
Chilly powder - 1tsp
Salt - As per taste
Turmeric Powder - 1tsp
Fresh Cream/Malai - 2 cups whipped
Milk - 250ml





Method

To make Koftas:
Mash the paneer and potatoes
Add maida and salt
Mix all the ingredients together till well blended
Now make small balls and flatten like a tikki
Place the cashews and raisins mixture in the centre and roll into oval shapes
Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan/kadahi
Fry the koftas till golden in color
Repeat this with all the koftas and place them on a shallow dish




To make the Gravy:
Grind the tomatoes
Grind the Khuskhus and cashews to a fine paste
Mix together crushed cinnamon, mace, coriander powder, chilly powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder and salt in very little water so as to form a thick paste

Heat around 3 tbsps of oil in a heavy bottomed pan
Add the spice mixture to this
Fry till the spices look cooked enough
Add the khuskhus cashews paste to this and fry till the oil starts leaving the bottom of the pan
Now add the tomato paste to this and cook for some time
Add the whipped cream to this and let it simnmer
Now add the milk and let the gravy come to a boil
Cook till the gravy looks well blended
Place the koftas in the serving bowl and pour the prepared gravy over it.
The malai koftas would turn out well if this is done just before serving

Cabbage Kofta Curry-Cabbage Balls in Gravy

Ingredients
Cabbage - 1 small sized
Gram flour(Besan)- 4 Tbsp
Onions - 2 medium sized (paste)
Tomato - 2 medium sized (paste)
Ginger paste - 2 tsp
Garlic Paste - 3 tsp
chilly powder - 1tsp
Coriander Powder - 2 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1 Tsp
Red Whole Chilly - 2
Bay Leaf -2
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Salt as per Taste
Oil for Frying

Method

Grate the cabbage
Boil the water in a pan and add the grated cabbage to it.
Remove from heat and let it rest for 5 mins
Now drain the water till all excess water is removed
Mix the grated cabbage, gramflour, 1 tsp each of ginger garlic paste, turmeric powder, chilly powder and salt
Make small balls out of this mixture



For Making the Koftas
Heat Oil in a heavy bottomed pan(Kadahi)
Fry the balls till golden




For the Curry
In the remaining oil add bay leaves, Whole red chilly and cumin seeds
Add the onion paste and fry till the onions turn pink
Now add the rest of the ingredients i.e. Ginger paste, Garlic paste, cumin powder, coriander powder, salt and turmeric powder
Fry for sometime till the oil starts leaving the base of the pan
Add the tomato paste and fry for another 5 mins or till the and mixture looks well blended
Add 1 cup of water and bring to a boil
Add the koftas to this and simmer for sometime

Serve with rice, roti, parathas

Anger

You caused me pain and ruled my brain
With you I was always sad and in bane
You stayed with me for a very long time
And I lost all my charm divine

I could not figure where you live
Till I peeped within my own to give
Gnawing on my heart and mind
You were truly one of a kind

One evening as I set to walk
And met someone there to talk
I wanted to shed off all of it
but you never let me do my bit

I saw you there counting your score
I decided I will give you no more
I knew I would overcome you
And not give you my life to screw

Dreams

I sometimes wish I could hold on to the time. Not let the moment pass and keep it with me held tight. Those are the times I am the happiest.
I often wonder, why everyone wants happy times to last and pray for the sad ones to never come. Do we even realise that happiness will lose it's meaning if not for the other times when things are not easy. The times of despair and agony actually teach us to fight all odds. In the hope of finding greater happiness some day....we keep on moving ahead in time and our want never ends. When once we have achieved a certain something, one that seemed or sounded a far possibility, we look forward to more....... and thus begin the game of chasing our dreams......