Sesame Chocolates

For the occasion of "Sakat Chauth" many sesame/til varieties are prepared to offer to lord Ganesha in India. The most famous is the "Tilkut" and the other is the"Til Ladoo"!! But for a new sweet dish which is made with sesame seeds , I had made "Sesame chocolates" which my son enjoyed very much!! 

"Sesame/til" are natural antioxidants and high in calcium, The oil made from sesame seeds are mostly used for cooking purpose or in for salad dressings because of high antioxidant power. For more information please check"Sesame".

Ingredients:

1 cup milk powder(any brand)

1/2(little more) powdered sugar

1/2 cup melted butter

4 teaspoon cocoa powder

1/2 cup roasted and grounded Sesame seeds

1/4 cup roasted sesame seeds 

2-3 tablespoon water

little butter for greasing

Method:

Sieve milk powder and cocoa. Keep them aside. 

In a kadahi(wok) heat the butter and mix sugar with it on low flame.

To this add the milk powder&cocoa and mix very well.

Add the powdered sesame seeds and mix it again very nicely.

Add water to make it into a smooth paste.

Remove the chocolate paste from heat and spread a thick layer on a greased plate.

Sprinkle the roasted seeds on the paste and let it cool at room temperature.

Cut pieces of desired size and shape.

Delicious "Sesame Chocolates" are ready!! enjoy....

Optional notes:

These chocolates can  be prepared with Margarine for health conscious reasons.

Also Sugar free powder can be used instead of powdered sugar for Diabetics and Health conscious people.   

"Indian Trifle"!! New year dessert..

"Trifle" is an English dessert which is made with layers of sponge cake, fruits ,custard and other fancy ingredients!!Many variations are and can be done in making trifle. Loved by kids very much as it is not only attractive in looks but also very delicious in taste!!for more reference check:TRIFLE.



Here I am presenting my own Indian version of Trifle which is made with rice pudding/Kheer...












Ingredients:
This preparation is for 2 glass:
2 cups Kheer(home made)
1 cup dry fruits(almonds,cashew nuts, wall nuts, raisins)
few strands of saffron
1 cup Fresh fruits(strawberry, apple, banana)
2 tablespoon powdered sugar
50 grams dark chocolate
2 small /medium serving glass

Method:

Melt the chocolate in microwave bowl for 2 minutes(or few seconds more).
Apply this melted chocolate on the rim of both the glasses. Sprinkle powdered sugar on this and keep them in fridge.
soak the saffron strands in warm water and keep it aside.
wash and cut the fruits into small pieces and sprinkle powdered sugar on them too.Mix well.
Coarsely crush the dry fruits in a grinder.
roughly mash the kheer with help of a spoon .
In a bowl take 1 cup of kheer and add the saffron water into it.The kheer will get light yellow colour.
Now arrange the layers of all the ingredients one by one:
First add white kheer
Then a layer of dry fruits
Then a layer of yellow kheer
Then a layer of fruits.
Again a layer of white kheer.
And finally garnish wit dry fruits and strawberry
Keep these prepared trifle in fridge for about an hour or more to let them chill and set properly.
Indian trifle is ready!! enjoy

Optional notes:
Many variation in ingredients can be done in making this trifle.
One can also make this trifle using Rabdi!!
along with dry fruits and fruits one can also add strawberry/pineapple crush.

Badami paneer

This is my new creation which my family really liked a lot!! The flavour and taste of the rich almond gravy combined with crumbled or grated Cottage cheese, really makes this dish special. Enjoy this with Naan !!

Ingredients:
250 grams cottage cheese ( Paneer)
10-12  almonds
2 large tomatoes
2 medium onions
1 green chili
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds(jeera)
1/2 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon coriander powder(dhania)
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder(lal mirch)
1/2 teaspoon Garam masala
1/2 teaspoon black salt (kaala namak)
1/4 teaspoon cardamon powder(ilaechi powder)
salt according to taste
1 cup water
1/2 cup milk

For garnishing:
Few strands of saffron
1 teaspoon beaten fresh cream
tomato slices

Method:




Soak the almonds for 2 hours in lukewarm water.
Ground the onions and green chili into a fine paste.
Ground the tomatoes also into a fine puree.
In a kadahi(wok) heat the butter and add cumin seeds. When the seeds start to crack, add the Onion chili paste and saute . Add the ginger paste and saute it too till it becomes little dry.
Now add the tomato puree, and saute it on medium flame for 2 minutes.
Add all the mentioned spices and blend them well with the mixture.
Peel the skin of soaked almonds and ground them into a coarse paste.
Add this to the Bhunna masala(sauteed) mixture .Mix well.
Mix water and milk , Add this to the paste and mix well. Add salt.
Grate the paneer, add this to the almond gravy and mix well. Remove from heat.

 "Badami paneer " is ready!!

Garnish it with saffron strands, tomato slices and cream !!

Optional notes:
One can also add few sliced almonds into the gravy for flavour.
Garnishing can be made more royal by placing Silver foil(Varakh) and finely sliced almonds!!
One can adjust the thickness of the gravy as per desire.

Paneer Cutlets (Valentines special)

These cutlets are made with the mixture of Paneer, potatoes and aromatic spices like garam masala, cardamom powder and saffron. I had made this recipe for the special occasion of Valentines day, I had shaped them into small hearts. This snack could be used for starters in social gatherings or can be packed for kids school lunch. A healthy and tasty savory for Cottage cheese lovers.....!!!


This preparation will make about 10  small cutlets.
Ingredients:
250 grams Cottage cheese(Paneer)
2 medium potatoes(boiled)
1 small green chili
2 table spoon chopped coriander leaves
2 tablespoon cornflour
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon black pepper powder(kaali mirch)
1/2 teaspoon roasted cumin seeds powder(jeera powder)
1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder(Green ilaechi powder)
few saffron strands(kesar)
1 teaspoon black salt(kaala namak)
salt according to taste
heart shaped cookie cutter(for shaping)
oil for deep frying
For coating
1/2 cup semolina(sooji)
Method:
In a bowl crumble/grate paneer. Add grated/mashed potatoes in to it. Mix well.

Paneer and potatoes mashed

Add all the above mentioned ingredients and mix well. The material for cutlets is ready.

Spices added to the mixture

Take a heart shaped cookie cutter, apply little oil  on the side walls of the cutter. Fill it with the paneer mixture and press nicely and firmly. Press softly and slide the raw cutlets on a plate. Make all the cutlets following this process.

Shaping cutlets  with help of cookie cutter

Place each cutlet on the semolina and coat it properly from all sides. Keep them aside.

semolina coated cutlets

Heat oil in a kadahi(wok). The temperature of the oil should not be very hot, the flame should be in between low- medium. Frying on very high and low flame will scatter these cutlets in the wok.
Slide 4-5 cutlets into the oil and deep fry them from both sides till they turn golden brown in color.

Place them on an absorbent paper to remove excess oil.
Tasty and crispy Paneer Cutlets are ready!! Present  them with tomato roses and  ketchup.

Enjoy These cutlets with Cappuccino or Strawberry shake with your beloved ones on this Valentines day!!!!
Optional notes:
Be gentle and soft while making and shaping the cutlets or else they will break easily.
Use creamy paneer which is very soft for this recipe. They can be crumbled and bound easily.
One can increase the amount of spices as per ones taste!!

Nutty Crunchy Samosa

Another tasty and lip smacking snack !!!! "Smosas " are triangular shaped crunchy salty pastries which are usually filled with filling of mashed spicy potatoes. The filling of the samosas have many variations like Chinese samosa(noodles filling), Chocolate samosa(melted chocolate filling), vegetable samosa(boiled vegetable filling) and many more ........here I am presenting Crunchy Nutty samosa which have filling of nuts(peanuts, cashew nut and peas)...They taste really great !!! 


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


This preparation will make 14 small samosa
Ingredients:
For the wrapper:
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour(maida)
2 tablespoon ghee/oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon carom seeds(ajwain)
1/4 (a little more) cup water for kneading
oil for deep frying
for the filling

3 large potatoes(boiled)
1/2 cup green peas( boiled)
1/2 cup peanuts
1/2 cup cashew nuts
1 teaspoon cumin seeds(jeera)
1 teaspoon coriander powder(dhania powder)
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon dry mango powder(aamchoor powder)
1/2 teaspoon black salt(kaala namak)
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder(laal mirch)
1 teaspoon chaat masala
1/2 teaspoon roasted cumin powder(jeera powder)
salt according to taste
2 table spoon ghee/oil
For sealing:
1 small bowl of water.
Method:
for filling:
Heat oil in a pan. Add the jeera .When jeera starts to crack, add the peanuts and cashew nuts .

Saute for 2-3 minutes on medium flame till they turn golden brow in color.
To this add peas and saute them for another 2 minutes on low flame.

peas and nuts

Mash/grate potatoes. Add this to the sauteed nuts and mix well. Add all the spices and seasonings and mix well on low flame for 2 minutes.

potatoes and nuts

Remove  from the heat and let it cool at room temperature.
filling for the samosa is ready.
For wrapper/cover:
In a mixing bowl sieve the flour, add ghee/oil ,salt and carom seeds.

flour and ghee

Mix well all the ingredients till the flour texture turns out like bread crumbs.
Add small portions of water and knead well into a smooth and soft dough(like for poories)

dough for the wrapper

keep it aside and let it set for 10 minutes.
Heat oil for deep frying in a kadahi(wok).
Make 7 balls out of the dough. Roll each ball into circle (with help of a rolling pin) of 10-12 cm .

Cut the circle into two halves.

Take one half on your palm and apply little water on the straight edge of the wrapper
Shape it into a cone and seal the overlapped edges properly.

wrapper ready for filling

Take a tablespoon of the filling and fill it into the wrapper. A space of 1/2 cm should be left on the open side in order to seal the samosa properly and intact.

wrapper filled with the mixture

Make the rest of the samosas and keep them covered with damp cloth.

Prepared samosa

samosa lot

Deep fry 5-6 pieces at a time as it is a slow frying process. Deep frying is done on low flame . Takes about 30-40 minutes for one set of frying.

 1.samosas frying on low flame 

3. After 30 minutes light brown colour appears
on the covering

2. After 15 minutes

Fry the remaining lot and place the samosas on an absorbent paper to remove the excess oil.

Samosas after 40 minutes of frying

 Tasty Nutty crunchy Samosa are ready !!! serve them with Meethi chutney or ketchup....
Optional notes:
Samosas are fried on low flame as their crispiness develops slowly on low flame.
Fry few samosas in one lot, as their frying will occur properly.
It takes time for the samosas to fry evenly so keep patience for the process.
In order to avoid the breaking or tearing of the samosas during frying, seal the samosas properly and if required  double seal the edges .
A similar recipe of quick moong daal samosa will be posted soon......