Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel Bites

Pretzels are originated from Germany, which are called as Laugenbrezel.These cinnamon sugar pretzel bites are a perfect soft pretzels with chewy inside and cinnamon sugar crust coat outside. I ate pretzels before, but never knew that something like these pretzel bites are available.

These are easy to carry anywhere and mostly for kids who are hungry as soon as they step out of their home, like my daughter… :) As soon as we go out, she will be hungry and she will be looking for nearby shops for something to eat and one day she found these, which were easy to carry as they are just bite size and are very tasty. From then on she started to have these bites, whenever we are in malls or anywhere else. So I decided why don’t I try making them at home as it will be healthier than outside food.

I googled and got many recipes for pretzel bites, atlast I decide on this.  But I have made some changes. The process of making Pretzel bites look tedious, but once you start preparing everything will be finished within minutes.

This can be a perfect after school snack and also a party starter. Kids will love this.

Be careful while adding baking soda to boiling water, as the water level may raise by the addition of 1 tbsp of baking soda. So add the soda slowly, little by little.

Why we are giving the soda bath for pretzel bites  before baking is because, dropping each pretzel bite into the boiling water, makes the interior to quickly puff up and begins the crust formation. If you don’t boil, you will lose the chewiness of the pretzel and using baking soda is what gives the pretzels their brown and shiny crust with distinctive flavor. So it is very important to give the pretzel bites soda bath before baking.

The perfect combination for these pretzel bites are cream cheese dip or cheese sauce, but we love this without any dips. Just try this out and let me know...

Ingredients:

1. All Purpose Flour/ Maida- 2 Cups
2. Yeast- 1 tsp
3. Warm Water- ¼ Cup
4. Sugar- 1 tbsp
5. Salt- a pinch
6. Butter- 1 tbsp
7. Water- 5 Cups to boil
8. Baking Soda- ¼ Cup
9. Egg- 1 no
10. Cinnamon Powder- 4 tsp
11. Granulated Sugar- ½ Cup
12. Melted Butter- ¼ Cup

Method:

1. Add yeast in warm water. Stir till it is dissolved well. Keep this for 5 min, add sugar, butter and salt. Mix well.
2. Add all purpose flour in a bowl, add the above made yeast mixture and mix well with hands.
3. Knead well till smooth and elastic. Cover this with a cling film in a well oiled bowl and rest this for about 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile bring 5 cups of water along with baking soda to boil and also dont forget to preheat the oven to 190 degrees C.
5. After 30 minutes the dough will become double the size of original. Punch the dough and divide this into sections.
6. Roll each section into long ropes about 20- 22 inches long. Cut each rope into small pieces about 10 inches.
7. Drop these pieces into baking soda bath and let it sit for 20- 30 sec. Remove the pieces using a slotted spoon and place on a greased baking tray.
8. Brush the beaten egg on each piece and bake for about 10 minutes or till it turns golden brown.
9. Combine the cinnamon powder and sugar. As the pretzel bites are out of the oven, dip them in melted butter then in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
10. Set them on tray and finish off with the remaining pretzel bites.

Rice Laddus/ Ari Unda

There are so many traditional snacks of Kerala and one among them is this ari unda/ Rice laddus which is a simple and an easy sweet which can be prepared in no time. This can be enjoyed when going for long trips, mostly kids will love this. After making these laddus we must keep this in airtight containers in refrigerator or else it turns rancid in just 2- 3 days as fresh coconut is used.

I never heard about this sweet till my SIL was asking my neighbours to bring this from their native. She had it once when she was travelling in train through Kannur, north Malabar region of Kerala. While sitting at home, thinking about Kerala, these things will automatically pop up in mind and so  I thought of giving it a try and was surprised that this requires very less ingredients. My daughter loves this a lot and finishes one after the other, so I hid it from her….

Traditionally this is prepared using parboiled rice, but as I was having sona masoori rice, I used that. Just try this out and I bet you won’t stop eating one or two….

Ingredients:

1. Rice- 2 Cups
2. Grated Coconut- 1 Cup
3. Grated Jaggery- 1 Cup
4. Cardamom Powder- 1 tsp

Method:

1. Wash and drain the rice over a kitchen towel. When the rice is completely drained off, heat a skillet and roast the rice on a low flame till it crackles and changes it colour to light brown.
2. When it is still warm grind to a powder, not fine powder but coarse.
3. In a mixing bowl take grated jaggery, grated coconut and cardamom powder. Mix well with hands.
4. Add the above made rice powder, mix well. Take small portions and roll it into round balls.
5. Enjoy this along with hot tea.

Shahi Kheema Kebab

Kebabs, cutlets are the most sought after starters or snacks. During Ramadan fasting, when I was searching for some new dishes for iftar, I stumbled upon this recipe from youtube, which seemed to be easy and simple. This is so tasty, that you will end up eating more.

In this the minced meat is cooked along with lentils and potatoes which is blended with some spices, shaped, dipped in egg mixture, shallow fried and served along with ketchup or mint chutney.

This is a perfect starter for a party or for unexpected guests. Just shape the kebabs and store in zip lock bags in freezer. Before the guests arrive, thaw them from freezer and shallow fry.

The word "shahi" means "royal. Royal because this was made on special occasions. Daily during fasting time my daughter was eager to break the fast along with us, as I used to prepare variety of dishes for iftar and this was a mind blowing hit dish.

Just try this out and let me know...q

Ingredients:

1. Chicken Mince- 100 gms
2. Moong dal- ½ Cup
3. Potatoes (cubed)- 2 nos
4. Ginger and Garlic Paste- 1 tbsp
5. Red Chilli Powder- 1 tbsp
6. Salt- as required
7. Garam Masala Powder- 1 tsp
8. Onions (chopped)- 2 nos
9. Green Chillies- 3 nos
10. Cashew Nuts- 5-6 nos
11. Curd- ¼ Cup
12. Coriander Leaves- 3 tbsp
13. Oil- for shallow frying
14. Egg- 2 nos

Method:

1. Add minced meat, moong dal, cubed potatoes, ginger, garlic paste, red chilli powder, salt and garam masala powder in a pressure cooker for about 3 whistles or till they all gets cooked well.
2. After getting cooked, if it contains more water just cook it on high flame till the water gets evaporated. Grind this in a food processor till smooth.
3. Soak the cashews in water and grind to a fine paste. Keep this aside.
4. Take this mixture in a bowl, add the chopped onions, curd, coriander leaves, green chillies and , cashew paste required amount of salt. Mix well and shape as desired in the form of balls or ovals.
5. Meanwhile heat oil in a pan for shallow frying. Beat the eggs with little salt, dip each kebabs in the beaten egg and shallow fry them in hot oil.
6. Enjoy them along with tomato sauce or mint sauce.

Quick Instant Rice Dosa with Leftover Rice

These instant rice dosas are  simple, easy and a delicious dish, which is a perfect breakfast on a busy day. I made these one day for iftar and it was very filling. A easy way to finish off the leftover rice.

I saw this recipe on a facebook video, which I do not remember. I found this very easy,simple and also tasted delicious. This requires no soaking, fermenting and can be made in a jiffy when you are in a hurry. Addition of cooked rice will make this soft. Try this out and let me know….

Ingredients:

1. Cooked rice- 2 Cups
2. Rice Flour- ½ Cup
3. Green Chillies- 3 nos
4. Onions(chopped)- 1 no
5. Coriander leaves (chopped)- 3 tbsps
6. Salt- as required

Method:

1. Grind the cooked rice, rice flour along with little water. It should resemble dosa batter.
2. Heat oil in a pan, fry the chopped onions, green chillies and coriander leaves till the raw smell disappears.
3. Add this to the above made dosa batter along with salt. Adjust water accordingly.
4. Heat a griddle, pour a ladleful of batter and spread it on hot griddle. Pour some drops of oil and flip to the other side and when it turns golden brown.
5. Repeat this with the remaining batter and serve this along with coconut chutney.

Shahi Tukda- Ramadan Special

Eid Mubarak to all…..

Every eid I will be trying out different dishes and so for this time, I made a delicious dessert which will be loved by all.

Eid is a time where we will be celebrating with family and friends. In the morning we will do our prayers, exchange eid greetings, then after breakfast we will be busy with lunch preparations. Who doesn’t love to have an amazing dessert after a heavy lunch. In the evening will go out to meet  friends and family.

Shahi tukda is a sweet made of bread, milk, sugar, saffron and garnished with nuts. I didn’t had saffron. It is a most famous dessert in Hyderabadi weddings. As I grew up in Andhra, when I was a child, I used to love to visit weddings especially for this dessert. It is a must have dessert for weddings in Hyderabad.

This is similar to that of Double ka Meeta, another dessert. The ingredients are same only the preparation varies.

My husband and my kid also love this and so I made it for Ramadan. We can also use condensed milk, but here I reduced milk and added.

The aroma of the fried bread pieces soaking in the sugar syrup is to die for… This is so easy to make and with very less ingredients, within minutes we will be having a perfect royal dessert.

Try this out and let me know….

Ingredients:

1. Bread slices- 10 nos
2. Sugar- ½ Cup
3. Water- ¾ cup
4. Milk- 1 Cup
5. Cardamom Powder- 1 tsp
6. Nuts- ¼ Cup
7. Ghee- 2 tbsp

Method:

1. Dry the bread slices , cut the edges and also diagonally. Shallow fry the diagonal bread pieces in ghee to golden brown color and keep this aside.
2. Arrange these fried bread slices in a rectangular pan. Heat sugar along with water and cardamom powder. Let this boil for about 10- 15 minutes.
3. Pour the sugar syrup on the arranged bread slices evenly. Heat milk in a bowl and reduce it on a slow flame till it becomes ½ of the original amount.
4. Pour this on top of the syrup covered bread slices. Garnish with crushed nuts and dive into the amazing dessert.

Badusha- A sweet dish..

I am really sad that the holy month of ramadan is coming to an end and also happy that the joyous occasion of Eid ul Fitr is almost here.

Today I am going for an Eid party called as #EidEats a virtual event organised by the wonderful bloggers Sarah Mir of Flour and Spice, Asiya Baig of Chocolate & Chillies and Henna of My Ninja Naan. This is my first party invite and I am really excited to do special eid post of a dessert which is my all time favorite too.

Badusha is a sweet which is made out of maida, a generous amount of butter and curd made into a dough and deep fried and then dipped in hot sugar syrup just to get the sweetness. This is one of my childhood favorites. Always I used to buy it from sweet shops to calm my cravings for sweet. As We are from Kerala, my mom prepared all Kerala dishes which we demanded, but not these type of sweets. Making badusha was a dream to me. And atlast I tried my hand on this delicious dessert and it came out almost perfect.

A lovely sweet which can be made on any festive occasion. I tried the swirls and was really happy with the outcome.

Ingredients:

1. Maida/ all Purpose flour- 1 Cup
2. Butter+ Water- ¼ Cup
3. Sugar- 1 tbsp
4. Baking Soda- 1 pint
5. Curd- 1 tbsp
6. Water- ¼ cup
7. Oil- deep frying
8. For Sugar Syrup
9. Sugar- ½ Cup
10. Water- ¼ Cup
11. Lemon Juice- 1 tsp
12. Cardamom powder- 1 tsp

Method:

1. Melt the butter, oil mixture. Add sugar, baking soda, curd to this and whisk well till everything is well incorporated.
2. Take maida in a wide bowl, add the above made butter mixture. Mix till it looks crumbly. Add water little by little and make a dough. Just use enough water.
3. Make it into a smooth dough with any cracks. For this knead the dough well for about 5- 10 minutes and divide them into small round balls.
4. Take a ball, pinch the edges fold it inwards to make a decorative swirl, or you can just press the middle of the round ball, like a doughnut.
5. Make sure the dough is soft and smooth without any cracks or else while frying the crack will open up big.
6. Repeat shaping the remaining balls and keep it covered.
7. Meanwhile for the sugar syrup, add sugar and water, bring to a boil till one string consistency, add cardamom powder and lastly add the lemon juice.
8. Heat oil for deep frying and fry the prepared and shaped dough balls in hot oil. When they turn golden brown in colour remove from oil onto a paper towel.
9. Immediately add this to the hot sugar syrup, dip well on both the sides, immerse it for about 1 minute and transfer to a greased tray.
10. Once the badushas become non sticky and store in an airtight container.