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Lemon nankhatais


Ingredients

3/4 cup maida/all purpose flour
1/4 cup powdered sugar
Pinch of lemon yellow colour
Pinch of cooking soda
1 tsp lemon essence
1/3 cup ghee

Sieve the maida and soda and keep aside. Beat the sugar and ghee well and add in lemon essence and lemon yellow colour. Mix well and add the sieved flour little by little and make a dough. Make small balls and flatten them. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 20 minutes till done.

Cool well and serve.
Optional : If you have lemon zest you could add them and skip lemon essence.

7 Grain flour instant dosa

Ingredients for 7 grain flour

Rice flour
Wheat flour
Ragi flour
Bajra flour
Jowar flour
Bengalgram flour(besan)
Rajgira flour

Mix all the above flours in equal measurement and store in an air tight container. (More recipes with this flour coming up soon)


For dosa

Ingredients

1 cup 7 grain flour
Salt to taste
Water as required
Oil as required

Make a thick yet flowing batter of the flour, salt and water. Heat tava and prepare dosas as usual cooking with few drops of oil till done on both sides.

Serve with any spicy sidedish or chutney/sambar.

A quick, nutritious, instant and no fermentation dosa ready.

Paneer Paniyaram



Recipe Inspiration: Priya's Now Serving

Ingredients

1 cup idli batter
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp bengalgram dal
1 tsp blackgram dal
Few curry leaves
Finely chopped coriander leaves
1/4 tsp ginger paste
1 small onion finely chopped
1/2 cup grated paneer
1/4 cup grated cheese

Temper the batter with 1 tsp oil, mustard seeds, bengalgram dal, blackgram dal and curry leaves. Mix all the ingredients and pour small spoonfuls in the depressions of hot paniyaram pan with few drops of oil. When cooked on one side with golden brown spots, slowly turn over and cook on other side as well.

Serve hot with any chutney/sambar of your choice.

Eggless French toast


Recipe source: Raji of Raks Kitchen

Ingredients

2 tbsp Vanilla flavoured custard powder
1/2 cup Milk
2 tbsp Sugar
Bread slices
Oil/butter as required

Mix the custard powder in little milk and make a smooth paste. Add it to hot milk and stir for a minute. Add sugar and let it dissolve. Allow it to cool.

Cut the bread slice vertically or diagonally as required. Dip the bread slices in the custard powder milk for a second and immediately transfer it to a hot tava greased with little oil. Cook till brown spots appear and slowly turn over and cook on other side as well.

Serve as a quick and easy breakfast.


Coconut nankhatai




Ingredients

3/4 cup minus 2 tbsp maida/all purpose flour 
2 tbsp dry coconut powder
1/4 cup powdered sugar
Pinch of cooking soda
1/3 cup ghee

Sieve the maida and soda and keep aside. Beat the sugar and ghee well and add in dry coconut powder. Mix well and add the sieved flour little by little and make a dough. Make small balls and flatten them or shape as desired -squares or any other shape. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 20 minutes till done.

Cool well and serve.

Maa Inji pickle

This is one of the simplest kind of pickle and is made with Mango ginger..


Ingredients

1 cup chopped mango ginger
Salt to taste
2 green chillies cut
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
Bit of asafoetida

Mix the chopped mango ginger, salt, green chillies and lemon juice. Heat oil and add mustard seeds. When it splutters, add asafoetida and pour it on the pickle. Mix well.

Tasty Maa inji pickle ready to eat..


Book review: Gujarati kitchen by Bhanu Hajratwala


Author : Bhanu Hajratwala
Publisher : Westland

The author Bhanu Hajratwala was brought up in a traditional Gujarati family in Fiji Island and later moved on to the US after her marriage. And this is clearly evident in the way she has presented traditional Gujarati recipe with instructions to prepare using microwave also wherever possible.

It wouldnt be possible to cover all the recipes of any Indian cuisine in a single book as there are so many varieties and variations. However, the author has selected about 85 recipes of which some are synonymous with Gujarati cuisine and the rest are traditional family recipes.

Browsing through the pages, the first thing I noticed was non-vegetarian recipe and was in a for a shock as all along I have been of the view that Gujaratis are pure vegetarian and many of them dont even use onions and garlic in their daily food. Since I am a pure vegetarian this review doesnt cover the Non-vegetarian sections.

The book begins with a really big introduction by the author where she shares her experiences and experiments related to cooking. She introduces the readers about how she has been putting in efforts in the form of writing the recipes with exact measurements, the smallest details and trying on the written notes to ensure that she doesnt miss out on any detail. Next, comes in some kitchen basics like general tips, utensils required, ingredients used in Indian cooking, measurements and conversions.

The recipes begin a few masala mix(spices) that have been used in the dishes. 

The recipe categories -

1.   Starters - There are vegetarian as well as non vegetarian varieties.
2.   Main dishes -Vegetarian and Non vegetarian varieties
3.   Breads
4.   Rice
5.   Accompaniments with rice
6.   Sweets
7.   Chutneys and Relishes
8.   Pickles
9.   Favourite teatime snacks
10. Drinks
11. Mouth Fresheners
12. Sample Menus

Apart from Gujarati names, the recipe names are also mentioned in English. This would be very helpful for non Gujaratis. The procedure for each and every dish is well explained in a detailed and simple way which would be more beneficial for newbies in the kitchen. The step by step instructions would make it easy to try some hard core dishes that would otherwise be difficult.

The author's stay abroad in US and other countries is clearly reflected as the author has also included freezing method for the recipes. It is also mentioned how long the dish would stay fresh and variations to the original recipe have also been mentioned wherever possible. Most of the ingredients used in the recipes are simple and are easily available. The dishes are cooked to quantities that would suit a family of 4-6 people.

Apart from the all time famous Gujarati cuisine dishes like Oondhiyu, Thepla, Kachori, Khandvi, the author also explores some exotic dishes. Overall, whether you are a lover of gujarati food or have been wanting to try out any authentic Gujarati dish since long, this book is for you. In short, a must have for a complete foodie.



This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!

Alu (Potato) buns


Ingredients

3 cups all purpose flour/maida
2 tsp dry active yeast
3 tbsp butter
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup lukewarm water
2 tbsp sugar

For Potato mixture

2 boiled potatoes
2 tsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 small onion chopped
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 green chilli slit into half
Salt to taste
Finely chopped coriander leaves
Heat the milk till lukewarm and add butter. Heat water till lukewarm and add the yeast and sugar. Mix and let it stay till it froths up. Add salt and butter-milk mix to it and stir. Add in the flour little by little and keep mixing to get a dough. Knead well for 10 minutes and place in a greased bowl and cover with slightly wet cloth. Place the bowl in a warm area till the dough doubles in size.

Heat oil and add cumin seeds. When it splutters, add green chilli and onions. After a minute, add turmeric powder, roughly mashed potato, red chilli powder and salt. Mix well and add finely chopped coriander leaves.

Make medium sized balls, flatten a bit and keep some of the potato stuffing. Wrap the filling with the dough completely so that it doesnt come out. Repeat for rest of the dough. Arrange them on a baking tray leaving some gap in between.

Leave it to double again and then bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 20-25 minutes until it is done and slightly brown.

Cool and serve

Chocolate nankhatais


Its raining flavoured nankhatais on this blog and this time its Chocolate nankhatais...

Ingredients

3/4 cup minus 1 tsp maida/all purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tsp powdered sugar
Pinch of cooking soda
1/3 cup ghee
1 tsp cocoa powder
1 tsp chocolate essence

Sieve the maida, cocoa powder and soda and keep aside. Beat the sugar and ghee well and add in the essence. Mix and add the sieved flour little by little and make a dough. Make small balls and flatten them. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 20 minutes till done.

Cool well and serve.
* You can even try adding some chocolate chips to it.