Choco chip cookies

Winter season brings in the celebration of Christmas followed with the coming happy new year, So let us enjoy and welcome the new year with some delicious and tasty dishes enjoyed with our dear ones....!!!

Picture presentation taken from www.chezshuchi.com 

Chocochip cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup refined flour(maida)

3/4 cup butter

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

3-4 tablespoon milk
2-3 tablespoon crushed chocolate pieces

Method:
Preheat the oven at 180 degree.
In a bowl mix the butter and sugar properly with help of a hand blender till it gets light and fluffy.
In another bowl, sieve flour, baking powder and cocoa powder. Mix this well too.

Flour, cocoa and baking powder

Add the crushed chocolate to this mixture.
Now mix all the dry and wet ingredients(butter/sugar mixture with the flour mixture) and knead a soft dough.

dough ready for cookies

Use little portions of milk if the dough is drying .
Roll out small balls out of the dough. Press each ball slightly and shape it into a cookie. Sprinkle small portions of crushed chocolate over these raw cookies.
Grease a non stick tray and place the cookies on it providing a space of 5 cm between each cookie.

cookies ready to bake

Bake the cookies in the oven for about 25-30 minutes at 180 degree.

baked cookies

Yummy and chocolaty chocochip cookies are ready!!!. Serve them at tea time with family and dear ones.
Optional notes:
In case cocoa powder is not available one can use drinking chocolate powder.
While making baked items be very sure of the measurements of the ingredients mentioned in the recipe or else the baking would not appear as expected.
One can make variations of cookies by adding dry fruits, hazelnuts, or sesame seeds.
One can prepare cookies in advance and store them in an air tight container for later servings.

Enjoy other recipes for Christmas and new year:

 Assorted chocolates  

 Bread pizza,  

                   

Baked vegetable  

Daal(lentil) kebabs

These daal kebebs/cutlets are really healthy and tasty. Serve them as tiffin snacks for kids or as party starters. Made from Masoor daal(black lentil) , this is a good way of providing  healthy nutrients.....!!  
Picture presentation taken from www.chezshuchi.com (This recipe has been explained nicely along with pictures in this site) 


This preparation makes about 8 to 10 kebabs
Ingredients:
1 cup masoor daal(black lentil)
3 cup water
3 large potatoes(boiled)
2 table spoon finely chopped coriander leaves
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon chaat masala
1 teaspoon roasted cumin powder(jeera powder)
1 green chili nicely chopped
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon red chili powder(lal mirch powder)
1 teaspoon coriander powder(dhania powder)
salt according to taste
ghee/oil for crisping
Method:
Wash and soak the daal for 40 minutes in 3 cup water. Pressure cook the daal and cook it for about 1/2 hour on low flame. The daal should be properly cooked.

sauting the daal to make it dry.

 Heat a teaspoon of ghee/oil in a kadahi, add chili, coriander,cumin, garam masala powder and saute this daal  till it gets dry on medium flame for 10-15 minutes.

daal after 15 minutes

In a bowl, mash/grate the potatoes. Add daal, lemon juice and green chili and mix well. Add the chaat masala and salt and mix well this too.

Potato and daal mixture

Make small rolls out of this mixture and shape them into round kebabs.

Raw kebabs

Heat a griddle and apply little ghee/oil. Place these raw kebabs and shallow fry them till they turn slight brown in colour from both sides on medium flame.

shallow frying the kebabs

Serve them with cucumber slices and onion rings.

Daal kebabs

Healthy and tasty Daal kebabs are ready...!!


Optional notes:
One can use the left over daal too. Dry the daal and prepare the kebabs as per the recipe given above.
One can make kebabs using other lentils too with the preparation remaining the same.

Paneer tikka(griddle roast)

Paneer tikka( crispy marinated cottage cheese)is a very special vegetarian savory . Usually it is prepared on a barbecue or a grill but here i had made it on a tawa. Try this simple and easy to make snack, which one can have for main course meal too!!!!
Picture presentation taken from www.chezshuchi.com (This recipe has been explained nicely along with pictures in this site) 


This preparation is for 4 person
Ingredients:
250 grams cottage cheese(paneer)
1 medium green capsicum
1 medium onion
1 medium salad tomato
For marinade:
1 cup yogurt(hung curd)
1 teaspoon kasuri methi(dry fenugreek leaves)
1 teaspoon chaat masala
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
1/2 teaspoon roasted cumin powder(jeera powder)
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon lemon juice
salt according to taste
Butter/ghee for roasting
Other items:
wooden sticks/skewers
Method:
Cut paneer and the vegetables in equal and diced shape

Vegetables and paneer 

Prepare marination:
In a bowl take the hung curd(tie the normal curd in a muslin cloth for about an hour to drain the water out of the curd).

Hung curd

Add all the spices and other ingredients of marinade into the hung curd and mix well.

Spices and herbs for marinade

Add all the vegetables and paneer into this curd mixture and blend well so that each vegetable and paneer piece is coated with it.

Marinated vegetables and paneer

Refrigerate these marinaded vegetables for half an hour.
Place these vegetables and paneer on the wooden skewer in an uniform arrangement(first capsicum,then
onion,then tomato and paneer, reverse the arrangement till the top of the skewer). Prepare 4-5 sticks like this.

Vegetables and paneer skewed on a wooden stick

Heat the tawa(griddle), put little ghee/butter on it and place each stick on this heated tawa . Let the vegetables and paneer roast from each side, rotate the sticks when done from one side.

Roasting paneer tikka on a tawa

Serve paneer tikka with onion rings, sliced cucumber and special curd and coriander chutney(recipe will be posted soon).!!!

Optional notes:
One can also add a teaspoon of Green chutney to the marinade to make the tikka more tangy and tasty.
One can make this tikka in conviction mode of microwave(at 190 degree for 15-20 minutes) or in the grill mode of a common oven( 200 degree for 10 minutes).

Bread Pizza

"Pizza", a great dish originally from Italy. It is one of the most eaten and liked fast food all over the world. Here is a varied  version with bread. Enjoy the crispy base with  any topping of vegetables, meat chunks or cheese. Easy to make and loads of fun in eating it!!

Ingredients:
For base
6-8 bread slices(either flour or wheat)
For topping:

1 large tomato(cut into small pieces)

1 large onion(cut into small pieces)

1 cup shredded cabbage

1 large green capsicum(cut into small pieces)

1/2 cup button mushrooms( cut into very small pieces)
1/2 cup corn kernels

2 table spoon Pizza topping sauce

1 tablespoon mayonnaise
2 tablespoon cheese spread(any flavour)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper powder(kaali mirch)
 3-4 tablespoon Tomato sauce(to spread on the base)
salt according to taste
for garnishing:
grated cheese(mozzarella or cheddar)
tomato ketchup
Method:
In a bowl mix all the vegetables with other ingredients and seasonings.

Vegetable and seasonings mixture

Preheat the oven at 200 degree
Place bread slices on high rack and preheat them too for 5 minutes.
Spread a teaspoon of tomato ketchup first and a tablespoon of topping evenly on each crisp bread slice and top it more with grated cheese.

Pizza topping and grated cheese

Place them in oven and let it bake for 15 minutes at 220 degree.
Crispy Bread pizza is ready. serve them hot with tomato ketchup.

Optional notes:
One can make variations in topping with other vegetables like olives,jalapeno or red bell pepper.
 Also one can add paneer(cottage cheese) to get varieties of toppings for the pizza.
You can make and refrigerate the topping mixture for a day, for this do not add salt otherwise vegetables will tend to loose water.

Vegetable cutlets

Kids favorite " Vegetable Cutlets". A good way of of providing the nutrition of vegetables in a snacky form !!!

This preparation is for 3 person

Ingredients:

Boiled vegetables

3 medium sized potatoes(boiled)

1/2 cup french beans(boiled)

1/2 cup carrots(boiled)

1/2 cup cauliflower florets(boiled)

1/2 cup peas(boiled)

1/4 cup chopped onion

4-5 bread slices( preferably brown bread)
1 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves

1 teaspoon garam masala

1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder

salt according to taste
1/2 cup semolina(sooji) for coating
Oil for deep frying

Method:
 In a bowl mash/grate potatoes. To this add all the boiled vegetables and mash them too.
 Discard the sides of the bread slices and break them. Add these slices to the vegetable mixture and mix well .
All the ingredients mentioned above should be mixed properly so that they can bind together when shaping it into a roll.

Form 8-10 rolls out of this mixture and shape them into a cutlet.
 Cover each cutlet with semolina coating and deep fry them on medium heat till they turn golden brown from both sides. Place them on an absorbent paper to remove excess oil.
Tasty Vegetable cutlets are ready. Serve them hot with ketchup or sweet chutney
Optional notes:
If  the binding of cutlets does not set properly, one can increase the number of bread slices, as they absorb moisture and helps to bind nicely. Always deep fry cutlets on medium heat otherwise they will break and spread in the kadahi.
Try some more Dry snacks

Chivda- Maharashtra special

"Chivda"- Roasted beaten rice flakes, is a very common snack in western parts of India. Prepared in less oil, it is a good tea time snack for the family. So enjoy this crunchy snack  during festival time!!

"Dry Chivda"

Ingredients:
500 grams Beaten rice flakes(Jada poha)
1 cup Peanuts

Ingredients for making chivda

1 cup Dry bengal gram dal(Channa dal)
1/2 cup Cashew nuts
1/4 cup (little more) sesame seeds(til)
1/2 cup dry coconut powder
7-8 curry leaves
2 Whole red chilli(sabut lal mirch)
2 teaspoon mustard seeds(rai)
2 teaspoon oil
1 teaspoon red chilli powder(lal mirch)
1 teaspoon turmeric powder(haldi powder)
1/2 teaspoon asafeotida(hing)
salt according to taste

Dry roasting of  poha

Method:
Heat a kadahi and dry roast the poha on high flame for 7-8 minutes. Roast the poha till it becomes more crunchy and easy to break with fingures. Remove from flame and keep aside.

In the same kadahi, Put oil and add hing, Rai, curry leaves. When they start to crack add sesame seeds, red chillies, channa daal, peanuts and cashew nuts. When they are slightly roasted, add the coconut powder and mix well. Saute for 2 minutes, add haldi and red chilli  powder and mix well with other ingredients. Add the roasted poha and add salt. Mix well all the ingredients. Spread it in a big plate or tray and let it cool at room temperature.

 Crunchy Chivda is ready. Store it in an airtight container for longer use.

Optional notes:
 One can also add fried garlic slices and fennel seeds (according to one's preference).

Gulgulay

A special sweet prepared on "Ahoi Ashtami", (Mothers fast on this day for good health and prosper life of their children). They are like sweet pakoras but the difference is they are made from wheat flour and are very light .

Gulgulay

Ingredients:
1 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoon curd
1/4 cup milk(little more)
2 table spoon dry coconut powder
1 teaspoon fennel seeds(saunf)
1 teaspoon charoli nuts (chiraunji)
2 table spoon black raisins (optional)
ghee for deep frying

Method:

Batter for Gulgulay

Gulgulay deep frying in ghee

In a bowl mix all the ingredients and form a semi thick batter(of pouring consistency). Heat ghee in a kadahi,  put small portions of this batter into the heated ghee and deep fry on low medium flame till the gulgule turn golden brown  from both sides.
Remove and place it on an absorbent paper to drain excess oil.
Tasty gulgule are ready.








more dessert and sweets: Banana Mithai, Shahi Tukda, Gillaori, Besan ladoos, Coconut ladoo

Sada bahar poha

"Poha "  healthy and nutritious Snack for all ages!!!

Ingredients:
2 cups Beaten rice(Poha)
1/4 cup boiled corn kernels
1/4 cup boiled peas
1 medium potato (boiled)
1/4 cup carrots nicely cut
1/4 cup peanuts
1 tablespoon Bengal gram (channa daal)
1 teaspoon mustard seeds( rai)
1 teaspoon white lentils(urad dhuli)
3-4 curry leaves
1 green chilli
lemon juice (optional)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon red chilli powder(laal mirch)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder(haldi powder)
salt according to taste
3 table spoon  refined oil

For garnishing:
 Freshly grated coconut
Nicely chopped coriander leaves(optional)

Method:
Wash the poha with water and keep aside. In a kadahi, heat oil and add mustard seeds,green chilli & curry leaves. When they start cracking, add both lentils and peanuts. Saute them till their color changes. Add all the vegetables (mentioned above) and saute them too. Add turmeric powder and stir well. Now add poha and mix well with the vegetables. Add the seasonings and mix well. Put sugar and mix it well too. Finally, put lemon juice and mix it too. Garnish poha with grated coconut and coriander leaves.

Tasty Sada bahar Poha is ready. Enjoy it with ketchup or Chutney of your choice.

Assorted Pakoras- methi pyaz pakora

Onion slices coated with Fenugreek leaves batter, gives a mouth  watering taste!!


Ingredients:


1 large onion
2 tablespoon Dry fenugreek leaves(kasuri methi)
1 green chilli finely chopped
1 cup gram flour(besan)
1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder(lal mirch)
1/4 teaspoon asafeotida(hing)
salt according to taste
water for making batter of coating consistency
oil to deep fry

Method:


Cut round slices out of the onion. In a bowl mix besan, salt, chilli powder, hing, green chilli and methi leaves. Add water and make batter for coating  slices.  Heat oil in a kadahi , Dip each slice into the batter and deep fry them on medium flame till it becomes crispy brown in color. Place the slices on an absorbent paper to remove excess oil. Serve hot.

Yummy Pyaz methi pakora is ready to eat.

Optional notes:
Do not cut very thin slices of onion as they will not be coated properly with the batter. To enhance the taste of pakoras sprinkle chaat masala over them.

Assorted pakoras- Chatpata aloo pakora

Easy to make and tasty to eat!!!

Ingredients:


1 large potato
1 cup gram flour(besan)
1 tablespoon chaat masala
1/2 teaspoon Red chilli powder(lal mirch)
1/4 teaspoon asafeotida(hing)
salt according to taste
water to make batter for coating
oil to deep fry

Method:


Peel and wash potato. Cut round slices of potato. The slices should not be very thin. In a bowl, take besan and add chaat masala, hing, lal mirch and salt , mix well with water to make batter for coating. Heat oil in a kadahi, dip the potato slices in the batter and deep fry them on medium flame till it turn crispy brown in color.
Place it on an absorbent paper to remove excess oil.

Chatpata aloo pakora is ready to eat. Serve them hot.

Optional notes:

Pakoras should be enjoyed when they are crisp. Kept pakoras become soggy and it does not tastes so good. Always fry pakoras on medium flame. To enhance the texture  and flavor add a tablespoon of rice flour to the batter.

Assorted Pakoras

Its Rainy season and what else could be the best starter or snack then pakoras.!!!!Yummy.

                                           


Dil Bahaar pakora

  This preparation will make 6 to 8 pakoras


  Ingredients:


3-4 baby corn
200grams cottage cheese(paneer)
2 table spoon  peanuts (crushed)
2 tablespoon coriander leaves(nicely chopped)
2 cups gram flour(besan)
1 teaspoon chaat masala
1/2 teaspoon roasted cumin powder(jeera)
1/2 teaspoon Red chilli powder( lal mirch)
1/4 teaspoon black salt(kaala namak)
salt according to taste
water to make coating batter
oil to deep fry

Method:

Cut baby corn into halves. Grate/mash the paneer and add peanuts, seasoning and spices mentioned above . Mix well. Now coat the corn slices with this paneer mixture properly, keep aside. In a bowl , take gram flour and add sufficient water to make batter for coating. Add salt and asafeotida(hing) optional. Heat oil in a kadahi. Dip these coated corns in the batter and deep fry them on medium flame till they turn crispy brown in color. Cut these pakoras into half and serve.

Dil Bahaar pakora is ready.  Enjoy it with ketchup or chutney of your choice.

Chatpate Atta munches

Tea time snack made out of wheat flour, Healthy and tasty!!

Ingredients:

3 cups wheat flour

1/2 cup semolina(sooji)

3 tablespoon ghee

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon dry fenugreek leaves(kasuri methi)

2 table spoon chaat masala

1 teaspoon asafeotida(hing)

oil for deep frying

Method:
 In a bowl mix atta, sooji ,salt, kasuri methi and ghee. Mix all properly. Add small portions of water and knead into a stiff dough. Make 3-4 rolls out of this dough. With the help of rolling pin spread it into a sheet. This sheet should not be very thin. Cut small squares out of this sheet. Heat oil in a kadahi. When the heating is appropriate, Put these squares  and deep fry them on low-medium flame till they turn crispy brown in color. Let them cool for few minutes at room temperature .
In a bowl ,  take atta pare and sprinkle hing & chaat masala and toss nicely so that each square gets coated with it.
 Chatpate atta pare are ready. Store it in an air tight container for longer use.

Salty munches

A perfect tea time munches enjoyed by every one!!

Ingredients :


Namak Pare:

3 cups All purpose flour(Maida)
1 teaspoon carom seeds (ajwain)
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoon ghee
1/2 cup semolina(sooji)
1/2 cup water for kneading
oil for deep frying

Method:
 In a bowl mix maida, salt, ajwain and sooji. Add ghee and mix properly. Add little portions of water and knead into dough. The dough should be little stiff. Cover this dough for 5 -10 minutes with a damp cloth and keep aside. Make 3-4 balls out of this dough. Roll it with help of rolling pin. Do not make a very thin sheet. Cut long stripes out of this sheet. Again cut the stripes diagonally of desired length . Heat oil in a kadahi . Put the cut stripes into the heated oil and deep fry them on low-medium flame till it becomes crispy golden brown in colour.
 Crunchy Namak para is ready.

Optional notes:


I had added sooji to give it a crunchy texture. It is optional. One can store the namak para and keep it for longer period  in an air tight container.