Corn and peas yellow Rice

This rice is made with corn and peas which not only gives a great taste but also a nice color to it.
The chaat masala  added to this increases the flavor of rice and gives it a tangy taste. One can make it as a tiffin meal too for kids. A great and quick to make recipe which you can enjoy with Green chutney and flavored curd/yogurt !!! 


This preparation will serve 3 persons
Ingredients:
1and 1/4cups of  white rice(prefer basmati)
1/2 cup boiled green peas
1/2 cup boiled corn kernels
1 medium size potato( cut into quarter pieces)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds(jeera)
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder(haldi)
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon black pepper powder(kaali mirch)
1 teaspoon chaat masala
salt according to taste
1 tablespoon ghee
Method:
Wash and soak rice for 1/2 hour.

In a pressure cooker, heat ghee and add jeera. When it starts to crack , add the peas, corn and potato. Saute them for few seconds.

Drain the water and add the rice with other ingredients and mix well.
Add 1 and 1/2 cup of water to this. Add all the seasonings except chaat masala. Stir well.
Seal the lid of the pressure cooker and let it cook. Will take one whistle on high and one whistle on low.

Sprinkle the chaat masala on the cooked rice.

Tasty Corn and Peas yellow rice is ready!! Serve hot.....

Ragda Patties

Another tasty savory from Aamchi Mumbai!!! This is a very famous road side chaat  which is a combo of  "Mattra" (White peas) and Potato patties flavored with spices and chutneys. This dish is a complete meal in itself and is quick and easy to prepare. With garnishing of  onions and tomatoes, enriching its flavor and color, it is a must try chaat!!!


Picture presentation taken from www.chezshuchi.com (This recipe has been explained nicely along with pictures in this site) 

This preparation is for 4 persons
Ingredients:
For patties:
3 large boiled potatoes
3 bread slices(discard the bread sides)
1 teaspoon salt
oil for shallow frying
For ragda:
1.5 cup white peas(mattra)
1 large tomato nicely chopped
1 large onion nicely chopped
1 green chili finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon asafeotida
1 teaspoon coriander powder(dhania)
1/4 teaspoon turmeric poweder(haldi)
1/2 teaspoon  garam masala
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder(laal mirch)
1/2 teaspoon roasted cumin powder(jeera powder)
1 teaspoon chaat masala
2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon black powder(kaala namak)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds(jeera)
1-2 tablespoon nicely chopped coriander leaves
salt according to taste
2 tablespoon oil/ghee
For garnishing:
1 large tomato slices
1 large onion slices
1-2 tablespoon namkeen sev( salty gram flour fried thin strands)
1-2 teaspoon Meethi chutney
1-2 teaspoon coriander chutney
pinch of chaat masala

Method:
for patties:
In a bowl, mash/grate potatoes.

mashed potatoes,bread and chopped coriander

Add all the other ingredients and mix well. Apply a little oil to your palm and make about 8 balls out of this mixture.
Press each ball and shape them into a circle of a little thickness.

Potatoes patties ready  for crisping

Heat  oil for shallow frying in a frying pan. Place each patty on the pan and shallow fry them from both sides on low-medium flame.

patties shallow fried

Crisped patties from one side

When done place the patties on an absorbent paper to remove the excess oil.
Patties are ready.
For ragda:
Wash and soak the white peas overnight. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt to this.

soaked whit peas

Boil the peas in a pressure cooker till they are properly cooked(it takes about 15-20 minutes (with a single whistle on high and others on low flame). Keep it aside.

boiled mattra

In a kadahi(wok), heat ghee/oil and add asafeotida and jeera.When the jeera starts to crack add green chili and onion .Saute it for 2 minutes.

sauteing onions

Add tomatoes and saute again for 2-3 minutes on medium flame. Add all the spices and saute again for a minute.

tomatoes sauteing

Now add the boiled peas and mix well . Add salt, lemon juice and chaat masala. Mix well.

white peas with the masala

Ragda for the chaat is ready!!!


For serving:

Place two patties on a plate. Break them from the center.
Put 1-2 table spoon of  ragda on it. Put both the chutneys on top of this.
place the slices of tomato and onion on it and finally the namkeen sev.
sprinkle a pinch of chaat masala for the final touch.

Ragda Patties

Tasty and tangy Ragda Patties is ready!! serve them hot!!
Optional notes:
Patties can be made plain or can be made with filling of cottage cheese, lentils , mashed green peas or munches. These can be prepared in advance and stored in fridge for further use.
If the binding of the patties is not occurring properly, add more bread slices.
Ragda too can be made in advance and stored in fridge for further use.
One can have the chaat with or without garnishing too, tomato and onions enhances the taste and color of the dish.

Paneer parantha(stuffed cottage cheese bread)

"Paneer paranthas " are very nutritious and tasty Indian flat bread which one can have for breakfast of for main meal. Stuffed with the filling of  grated or crumbled Cottage cheese  these paranthas are great tiffin meal too. My family loves to have these paranthas with Tamatar ki launji and any variety of raita( flavored beaten yogurt) for meals. One can spice up the stuffing or simply crumble the paneer and add chaat masala to flavor it. Enjoy this Paneer delight ....!!! 
Picture presentation taken from www.chezshuchi.com (This recipe has been explained nicely along with pictures in this site) 


Ingredients:
For stuffing:

200 grams cottage cheese(Paneer)
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon coriander powder(dhania powder)
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
1/4 teaspoon dry mango powder(aamchoor)
1/4 teaspoon roasted cumin powder(jeera powder)
1/4 teaspoon black salt(kaala namak)
1/4 teaspoon fennel powder(saunf powder)
a pinch of sugar
salt according to taste
Ghee/butter for crisping
For the dough:
2 cups wheat flour
water enough for kneading
 Method:
For stuffing:
Grate/crumble the cottage cheese. Add all the spices and mix well.

Grated paneer stuffing

Add salt when ready to roll the dough.
for the dough :
Take flour in a mixing bowl and knead it into soft fine dough using little portions of water. Apply a little ghee/butter to this dough and knead once more. Keep aside.
Start:
Make medium size balls out of the dough.
Make a hollow space in a ball and shape it into a bowl  using your thumbs.

shaping into a bowl out of the ball

Fill each bowl with the stuffing(about 1-2 tablespoon) and seal it properly from the open side.

stuffing filled

sealed the openings

Roll the ball into a flat circle of 15-16 cm using the rolling pin and board. Use little flour while rolling to avoid it from sticking to the board.

rolled into a circle

Heat the griddle(tawa) apply few drops of ghee/butter to the surface .
Place the rolled bread on the griddle and let it bake from both sides on medium-low flame.

parantha  baking

When brown texture appears on both sides apply a teaspoon of ghee on each side and crisp the parantha .
Use a spatula for flipping the parantha and crisping it.

crisping parantha

Delicious Paneer Parantha is ready.!!

Serve it with curd or chutney of your choice.

parantha  served with curd and launji

Optional notes:
The stuffing of paneer paranthas can be mixed with mashed potatoes or spinach to make varieties of these paranthas.

Healthy Fruit chaat

This chaat is the most easiest and healthy snack which could be served at any time of the day. Only made with variety of fruits one can have this chaat even during fasts. My son had helped me in the preparation for this chaat  and we enjoyed it as much as having it and preparing it. 

Make this healthy savory and enjoy it with family........


This preparation is for 3 persons
Ingredients:
1 large red apple
1 banana
1 cup pomegranate fruit seeds
1 cup black grapes
1 cup halved strawberries
 2 teaspoon powdered sugar
 2 teaspoon chaat masala
1 tablespoon lemon juice
a pinch of black pepper powder

Method:

Wash and clean all fruits properly. Peel and cut all fruits into small pieces.
In a bowl add all the fruits and put sugar, chaat masala, pepper powder and lemon juice.

Mix all nicely and serve them in serving bowls.
Optional notes:
One can use as many amount and variety of fruits depending upon the season and availability.
Use only fresh and clean fruits.
Do not store the leftover chaat in fridge. The taste and smell of fruits will not be good later.
One can store the cut fruits in fridge(except banana) in a zip pouch or air seal packs in advance for later use.
Prepare this chaat during serving time only , serve and consume immediately.

Carrot pudding(gajar ka halwa)

gajar ka halwa

variety of carrots

Carrots are rich in vitamin A, a healthy vegetable medicine for weak eyesight.  There are about 50 varieties of carrots found all over the world . The common cultivated carrots are of two types: the Eastern/Asiatic carrots and Western/carotene carrots.



In India we find most common variety the red and orange carrots(Asiatic carrot). This sweet is mostly prepared with the red carrots as their sweetness level is much higher than the orange ones. So try it and:
 welcome your guests with this sweet gesture!!!!


Picture presentation taken from www.chezshuchi.com (This recipe has been explained nicely along with pictures in this site) 


Ingredients:

500 grams carrots(grated)
1 liter full cream milk
200 grams whole dried milk(khoya)
200 grams sugar(little more)
4 table spoon ghee
For garnishing:
2 tablespoon raisins
                                                    2 table spoon cashew nuts

Method:
Heat ghee in a heavy base kadahi. Add grated carrots and saute for few minutes.

boiling carrots in milk

Add milk and stir well. Let a boil come and lower the flame. let the carrots cook in milk, till the milk
evaporates.(it takes about 40-60 minutes). Stir in between or else the milk will stick to the base.

Carrots after half hour

Add the sugar and grated khoya (Boil a liter milk in a heavy base pan on low flame till the milk evaporates completely leaving the solid content,(it takes about 40-60 minutes).keep stirring in between. the solid content is called khoya/mawa. will get about 250 grams of khoya). Mix well.

adding sugar and khoya

Stir in continuously for few more minutes to let all the ingredients blend well and a nice texture appears.

carrot halwa after 50 minutes

Finally add raisins and cashew nuts for garnishing.

Delicious Gajar ka halwa is ready!!!!

Optional notes:
some people boil the carrots first and then prepare this halwa. This is an easy way with low calorie content in it but the taste of the halwa differs a little.
One can prepare and store this halwa  in advance.

Thick strawberry shake

Strawberries are a delight to have. They are  good source of dietary fibers and vitamin C. High in sugar content, this fruit is used in making shakes, salads and desserts too..! So here is a sweet thick milk shake made with this delicious fruit, healthy for kids ......!!!

This preparation makes 2 small glass.

Ingredients:

8-10 strawberries

1 cup cold milk

2 -3 teaspoon powdered sugar

for garnishing:

2-3 strawberries.

Method:

Wash strawberries properly. In a grinder, ground these strawberries into a very fine paste.

Add powdered sugar and milk and give one more round of rotation in the grinder.

Pour this shake into a small serving glass. Garnish it with sliced strawberry piece.

Enjoy thick strawberry shake with family and friends!!!

 

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