Kalakand - Microwave Version

Kalakand is a delicious outcome of Chenna & Khoya mixed with sweetened milk.. The traditional way of preparing this decadent sweet is very painful. And if you've all ready-made ingredients then you can save much of your time. But the true taste lies with homemade ingredients.

During my visit to Indian store at Fullerton, I found a pack of "Homemade Khoya" in frozen food zone.. And I quickly added this to my shopping cart.. Now, while I was driving back home, I was wondering what to prepare with khoya and suddenly "Kalakand" came to my thought and then everything follows it.. As soon as I reached home I got engaged with the target of "Mission Kalakand".

I remember, one day me n my mom, we were discussing about "Benefits of Microwave" and she was listing some of the recipes from her cookbook that were microwave-based. One of the recipes she mentioned was about "Kalakand". So my next step was "Call MOMA!!". Unfortunately she was out for shopping with my younger sis.. It was around 8:00pm here and in a rush I forgot its day-time in India.. I started scolding Moma for still shopping at 8:00pm and she was "Are you out of your mind? It's noon here and I still have many more hours to do shopping" And I was left Jaw-dropped.. Then I explained this nonsense was all because of my curiosity to know Kalakand recipe.. And she started laughing "Why are you so desperate to prepare Kalakand?" Now I've no reply for this question... Luckily, as Moma has already tried the microwave version so she gave me some rough idea about the procedure.. And to my surprise that was perfect.. What she called as "Rough Idea" actually came out to be the "Perfect One".. I think that's what we call "Experience leads to perfection".. If I was there instead of moma, then my rough idea will really sound "Rough"!!! ;)

As soon it was done, I called Moma and thanked her for the recipe and she said "Wow sweetie, so now you can prepare Sweets too!!".. Well I'm not sure whether that was a compliment or a comment.. But it feels great to me..

Yeah we had dinner late, I think it was past 11 but Sree was surprised when he saw this white-coloured delicacy as the dessert of our dinner..

Here is how I prepared Kalakand:

Ingredients:

2 cups - fresh paneer ( homemade paneer)
1/2 cup - khoya
1 can - condensed milk
1/4 cup - sugar
1/2 cup - chopped nuts (pista, almonds)
1-2 cardamoms, powdered
a pinch of saffron diluted in 1 tbsp milk

Method:

Take a large microwave-safe bowl and mix paneer, khoya, condensed milk and sugar. Keep stirring until thoroughly mixed the ingredients. Now place the bowl in microwave for 2 mins. My microwave has customized settings, so I kept it on "Dessert" settings. My mom has LG microwave and she make use of "Sweets" settings. After 2 mins, take out the bowl and stir the mixture again. Now microwave it for another 3 mins.. Take out and stir the mixture. Repeat this procedure until the mixture thickens, almost a dough-like consistency. It took me around 14-15 repetitions.

Evenly spread the mixture on a greased plate, allow to cool down to room temperature and then sprinkle chopped nuts, cardamom powder and spread saffron over the mixture. You may place silver foil to decorate it. Gently press them over the mixture.

Refrigerate it for 2-3 hrs or until firm. Cut into desired shapes. Well, I was so desperate that I took it out before it was chilled properly. Made 2 square pieces out of it and kept back to refrigerate. The pics shown are properly done kalakand and not the one I had for my dinner... :D But it tastes "Divine"..

Enjoy!!

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Leftover Vegetable Patties

I'm a die-hard fan of parathas and I always try preparing different varieties of parathas.. Almost twice a week we have paratha for breakfast or dinner. One day I had some leftover boiled veggies and I was in no mood to have paratha  again.. To be honest, Sree was in no mood to have the same paratha again. ;)

Now what next? Wasting food is a big NO NO! Then I got an idea of making patties with the leftover veggies.. All I need to do is little bit of make-over and I'm done..

Sree was surprised when he had it as evening snack, "Veggie Burger".....

Ingredients:

Leftover Boiled Veggies ( Potato, Carrot, Mushroom, Cauliflower, Peas), mashed - 1 cup
Onion, small and finely chopped - 1
Green chillies - 3, chopped
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
Cilantro,chopped - a handful
Chaat Masala - 1 tsp
Chickpea Flour - 2 tbsp
Salt - to taste

For frying

Vegetable oil - 1 tbsp

Method:

Mix all the ingredients. Take a big spoonful of mixture in between the palms and press gently to form round shaped patties. I've trimmed the shape of patties using cutter according to the size of burger bun.

Heat a pan or griddle at medium flame and add little oil. Fry the patties on both sides until golden brown.

Serve it with mint chutney or you can make a burger with it. Take seeded burger bun, place lettuce leaves, onion and tomato slice, veggie patty and some ketchup.. And Voila! you're done!

Enjoy!

Sending this to Priya's Fast food not fat food event.

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Tava Fried Paneer Tikka

Today I'm going to share our last weekend special... "Paneer Tikka".. I've prepared it number of times but this one is tava fried.. And I found it to be bit quick and more tasty, but yeah more oily, when compared to traditional paneer tikka.. So weight-watchers, try avoiding this method.

When it was served for dinner, Sree was so excited with the colorful combination of paneer and veggies arranged in skewers.. And if you've mint chutney  "Wah!" it's a perfect starter and you can easily please your loved ones and guests..

My mom used to prepare in Microwave and even I do but I felt tava fried is more tastier than any other method of preparing tikka..

Let's go to the recipe..!

Ingredients:

Paneer - 200 gms, cubed
Red onion, small  - 1, cut into squares
Cherry Tomato - 4, split into four
Bell Peppers (red,green and yellow), cut into thick wedges - 1 cup

For Marinade:
Yogurt - 3 tbsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Ginger-Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
Garam Powder - 1/2 tsp
Chat Masala - 1/2 tsp
Kasoori Methi - 1tsp, powdered

Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste

Other:
Oil - for frying
Skewers - 3

Method:

In bowl, mix the ingredients for marinade. Mix well. Add the paneer cubes and toss well so that the paneer cubes are well coated with the marinade. Cover it and let it rest for 1 hour.

Heat a pan, pour 1 tsp oil, arrange the paneer cubes on it. Keep it on medium-low flame. Brush little oil over paneer cubes and turn them upside down. When done, remove from pan and keep on tissue paper to absorb excess oil.

Similarly, repeat the procedure with remaining paneer cubes and veggies.

Arrange them in skewers and sprinkle some chat masala.

Enjoy!! 

Have you enjoyed this recipe or photos? Do follow this blog, share it with your friends and help this blog grow. This will motivate me to carry on with my passion. Hope you've enjoyed your time here and thank you for visiting me!!!

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For all those lovely people who are in love - Jalebi

I hope you all had a great V-day with your valentine, family and friends... And sorry for the belated wishes..

Now coming back to the post.. I've a special valentine's day treat for all of my blogger friends..It is Jalebi. :D

Jalebi!! Why this? Well this was my V-Day treat for Sree... Yes, I know you guys are wondering what's so special about jalebi.. Usually we have chocolates or cakes as V-Day treats but I thought of doing something different.. As this day is the most romantic day of the year.. So it must be celebrated uniquely.

The day before V-Day, I was discussing about the celebration with Sonal, my cousin and suddenly I came across the idea of preparing Jalebi and to add an extra twist of V-Day, we planned to make heart-shaped jalebis... So, now the secret is revealed.. They are not just jalebis.. They are heart-shaped Jalebis.. V-Day Jalebis..

The recipe is exact to normal Jalebi recipe except the way you make the final product.. Instead of those random circles, you got to make pretty hearts.. All depends on your imagination, play with the batter and enjoy the outcomes... ;)

Ingredients:

For Batter:
All-purpose flour - 1 cup
Rice flour - 1 tbsp
Yogurt - 3/4 cup
water - 1/4 cup
Salt - a pinch

For Sugar Syrup:
Sugar - 1 cup
Water - 1 cup ( it must cover the sugar)
Green Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
Saffron strands - 5
Lemon Juice - 1/2 tsp

Oil, for deep frying

Flower Jalebi with heart-shaped petals.. Click! Click!.. Crazy Me or Silly Me? Anyways I'm loving it!

Method:

Mix all-purpose flour and rice flour. Add yogurt and water and mix well to make a smooth batter. The batter shouldn't be watery. Add salt to taste. Let it rest overnight and next day morning the batter will be almost doubled. Mix it again to make a smooth batter.

In a shallow pan, add sugar and water and boil it for 10 mins on medium heat. Add cardamom powder, saffron and lemon juice. Mix well and leave the syrup on low heat.

Heat oil in a wide pan or kadai on medium flame.

Meanwhile, pour batter into a ziploc bag and make a small hole with metal skewer.

When you see small bubbles at the bottom of the pan, start making patterns with the batter into the oil. If the batter stays in oil for sometime and then rises up, the oil is at perfect temperature.

When the jalebis turn golden brown in color, remove them from oil and put them into sugar syrup. Let them rest in syrup for about 2 mins. Flip to get jalebis coated with sugar syrup on both sides.

Serve hot with rabri or just jalebi..

Enjoy!

Have you enjoyed this recipe or photos? Do follow this blog, share it with your friends and help this blog grow. This will motivate me to carry on with my passion. Hope you've enjoyed your time here and thank you for visiting me!!!

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Kerala Style Egg Curry

Sree loves to have appam with the egg curry. This curry is good with roti and rice. When I'm in doubt about what to cook or if I don't have any choice, egg curry comes to my rescue. It is such a quick recipe. This egg curry is full of flavours and adding coconut milk makes it more thicker and creamy.

Here's the recipe for Kerala Style Egg Curry.

Ingredients:

Eggs  4
Onion 2 medium sized, chopped
Green Chilly 3-4, chopped
Tomato 1, chopped
Garlic pods 3 - 4
Turmeric pwd 1/4 tsp
Coriander pwd 2 tsp
Red Chilli Pwd 1/2 tsp
Thick coconut milk 1 cup
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves
Salt to taste
Oil

Method:

Boil the eggs. Remove the shell and keep it aside. Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. When it starts spluttering add onion, garlic, green chilli and curry leaves. Saute it for 5 to 10 minutes. Add all the powders into the onion and saute it in low flame. Add water. Mix well and allow it to boil. Reduce the heat and add coconut milk and mix well. Split the eggs and add it into the gravy.

Enjoy!

Have you enjoyed this recipe or photos? Do follow this blog, share it with your friends and help this blog grow. This will motivate me to carry on with my passion. Hope you've enjoyed your time here and thank you for visiting me!!!

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My Best Bites of 2010

Wow, this is the first time I'm blogging twice on the same day.. too cool!! But you know, when I came across Smitha's event "Best Food I've eaten or blogged about" that was going to end today... The first thought that came into my mind was "How come I missed this?" but as usual silly old me!... I cannot let it go just like that when I've some best bites with me...... Let's check who are nominated for this event...

Nomination #1: Hard Rock Cafe's Haystack Chicken Salad

When you have fresh cut greens, carrots, corns, tomato and shredded cheese, tossed with ranch dressing and topped with fried chicken breast, spiced pecans and crisp tortilla straws... Then how can I ignore this wonderful yet very light salad to be nominated for this  event.. Yes this is one the best bites I've had in 2010.. I tried making this at home but hard rock cafe.. Rocks!!!

Nomination #2: Nutty Pinwheel Cookies

What's special about this is  "It was my first experiment with cookies" and came out good... I still remember how Sree finished a box full of these cookies in just 1 hr..

Nomination #3: Mango Lassi

Mango Lassi is one of those foods that carry my special childhood memories with them... This riotous combination of fruit and yogurt make it the most delightful sip of the year.. So, I must rename it to "Best Sip of 2010"... ;)

So Smitha, here is my entry to your event.

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Gobi 65

When you are back to school, you get back to assignments, preparations, exams...... whoosh!! Last week, I had a very busy schedule.. Poor Sree suffered a lot.. So I thought I'll do prepare something special for his birthday..

Yesterday was his birthday and very well known fact that he love any chicken dish... So, the menu  for the day was Pepper Chicken and Naan, but he likes Chicken 65 as starter.. I felt, having two dishes of chicken will create repetition... So I decided to make gobi 65.. He has never tried a vegetarian version of chicken 65.. And it was a big hit..
In total, we had an awesome birthday blast..!

So I'm sharing this birthday special with you.. Hope you will like it...

Ingredients:

Cauliflower - 1 ( medium sized)
Cornflour - 4 tbsp
Cumin Pwd - 1 tsp
Chilli Pwd - 2 tsp
Coriander Pwd - 1 tsp
Ginger Garlic Paste - 2 tsp
Salt to taste
Red Food Colouring , optional
Oil - to deep fry

Method:

Cut cauliflower into small florets and wash them in running water. Keep aside

In a bowl, mix all ingredients, except oil and florets, into a fine paste. Put the florets in the paste and mix well so that florets get evenly coated with the paste. Let it stay for 1 hour.

Heat oil in a deep pan. Deep fry the florets until crispy.

To give it a look of traditional chicken 65, I wrapped small piece of aluminium foil at the tip of the florets.

Garnish it with lemon wedges and onion slices.

Enjoy!

Sending it to Rumana's "Treat to Eyes: Series 1" event.

Have you enjoyed this recipe or photos? Do follow this blog, share it with your friends and help this blog grow. This will motivate me to carry on with my passion. Hope you've enjoyed your time here and thank you for visiting me!!!

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Awards & Tags!!

Gals!! sometimes I feel I'm the laziest creature ever born and lemme tell you my mom agrees with this.. :(

I've been away from my cute blog for couple of weeks and I missed everything here... I was busy in moving, then my classes and then adjusting with the new surrounding!! Whoosh... tats too tiring... But now I'm enjoying this change.. Yippie, I'm back to school!!

Now I've some beautiful awards from Ramya and also tagged by my sweetie, Priya! Thank you lovely gals...

Awards by Ramya:

One Lovely Blog Award

Stylish Blogger Award

Here are the rules:

• Thank and Link Back to the Blogger Who Awarded You With The Award
• Share 7 Things About Yourself
• Award 15 Recently Discovered Great Blogger
• Contact The Bloggers and Inform Them of The Award

Now 7 things about me and lemme tell you this is the first time I'm sharing this in my blog. So "Secret Revealed"......

1. First n foremost, I've a tendency to be risk-taker... And thats sometimes too worrying for me.
2. I love food but before that I love to see people enjoying the food prepared by me..
3. My mom says, I'm quite unpredictable.. Yes I'm!
4. I love music and traveling.
5. I'm a bad kitchen keeper... Everything is always messed up on my kitchen racks. But you know, tats arrangement for me.. If my kitchen rack will be properly stacked up, then I'm lost.. :D To mention, you will never find that it's horrible coz I mess them in style!! ;)
6. I listen sincerely to everyone and then do exactly as I please.. In short, I'm bit careless fellow!
7. I love my family, friends and ice-creams.. :D

Oh! now you can understand, Why I always consider myself as "Silly"?

I would love to share this to everyone but according to rule I've to share them with 15 friends... So, my fifteen lovely friends, with whom I'm pleased to share these awards are:

1. Uma
2. Mehnaz
3. Priya Mitharwal
4. Sana
5. Prathima
6. Priya Sreeram
7. Divya
8. Torview
9. Madhuri
10. Treat & Trick
11. Jay
12. Swathi
13. Sameena
14. Akila
15. Jaisy

Gals, please collect these from me...

Also, I was tagged by Priya and thank you Priya for remembering me. Here are her set of 8 questions and I would love to answer them..

1. What is your favorite thing about blogging?
-> Bookmarking new recipes and making new friends.

2. Who is your best critique for cooking?
-> Sree, my hubby!

3. What is your favorite food? If you one in each category, please mention.
-> Paneer Chilli. I'm crazy about it..

4. What are some of the foods that has amazed you in someone else's blog? Name 2 to 3 with links, if possible.
-> Aipi's Nutella Cold Coffee - I still have this bookmarked with me.
    Rachana's Gooey Chocolaty Microwave Cupcake
    Ayeesha's Biscuit Joconde

5. Who is your inspiration in blog world or who do you look upto to want to be like (any specific blog)?
-> Ofcourse Meeta - What's For Lunch Honey? I love her blog!

6. Would you prefer a cold sandwich and sald or a hot panini and warm soup for lunch?
-> I will go for hot panini and warm soup for lunch. A perfect combination!

7. Are you obsessed about anything when it comes to food, may be a process or igredient that you have to use or love to use?
-> I love to add ground black pepper in my dishes, provided it must go with the recipe.

8. Have you ever thought about or approached by or tried for cooking something up for a TV or a newspaper? Would you like to do so, if not done already?
-> Obviously, I would love to. But not now! I feel I'm not expert enough to broadcast my cooking on TV or newspaper.   

Now, I'm tagging 8 of my fellow bloggers with the same set of 8 questions and they are:

1. Fathima
2. Ganga
3. Kavita
4. Ragini
5. Suhaina
6. Pari
7. Fajeeda
8. Nivedita

Gals, answer the questions and pass them to your 8 blogger friends..

Enjoy!

Have you enjoyed this recipe or photos? Do follow this blog, share it with your friends and help this blog grow. This will motivate me to carry on with my passion. Hope you've enjoyed your time here and thank you for visiting me!!!

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