Easy Sheer Khurma/ Vermicelli Pudding- For EID!!!!!

EID MUBARAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is EID!!!!! It marks the end of Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Like every year, this year also got ready and went to the mosque for the Eid prayers. Came back and the first thing I did was to boil to milk for sheer khurma. Every time I used to make this sheer khurma using milkmaid. This time I didn’t want to add that and to make it simpler and richer, we have to reduce the milk till it becomes thick. So the first thing I did before making the breakfast was to heat the milk and I reduced it to half. No need of standing there and stirring, once you simmer the milk, just stir in between your other work. It won’t take much longer.

This special dish is made on the morning of Eid. This exotic rich dessert is prepared using milk, vermicelli along with dry fruits. Long back I have posted sheer khurma using milkmaid.

Vermicelli is fried in clarified butter. Reduced milk is added to the roasted vermicelli and cooked further. When it thickens, roasted dry fruits are added and enjoyed hot or cold. This is one of the compulsory desserts that my mom used to make for Eid. to make this sheer khurma, we use thin vermicelli not the thick ones which we make for semiya upma.

In sheer khurma, the sweetness is due to the addition of dates, but here in my house everybody likes to eat dates just like that rather than adding in the milk, so I didn’t add dates. This is one of the super easy desserts which can be made when the guests are at home and will be liked and enjoyed by all.

Ingredients:

1. Thin Vermicelli- 1 ½  Cup
2. Milk- 4 Cups
3. Sugar- ¼ Cup
4. Cashews- 3tbsp
5. Almonds- 3 tbsp
6. Chironji/ Charoli- 5 tbsps

Method:

1. Crush the cashews and almonds coarsely.
2. Boil milk in a sauce pan, stir in between or else it will stick to the bottom. Reduce the flame once it gets boiled and let it simmer for 20- 30 minutes. By this time the milk will get reduced and thicker.
3. Roast the thin vermicelli in Ghee till golden brown, remove and when it gets cooled, crush with hand into small.
4. In the same ghee roast the crushed cashews, almonds and chironji. Keep this aside
5. Add the roasted vermicelli and sugar into the boiled thick milk. Stir well.
6. When the vermicelli becomes soft, add the roasted nuts along with the ghee. Stir, serve and enjoy.

Chicken and Potato Bolani/ Afghan Flat breads along with Carrot Curd and Healthy Mango Milkshake

These days during fasting, I am so much into cooking that I will be searching each and every website or youtube video for a different variety of dishes during iftar. One such recipe is this afghan dish which can be prepared using chicken or with vegetables. But I used both chicken and potatoes to make the filling for bolani, which tasted yumm along with carrot raita.

Bolani is a traditional Afghani flatbread stuffed and baked. Bolani is low in carbohydrates, calories and rich in protein, fiber, and vitamins. We can have a choice of fillings like the chicken, potatoes, spinach and so on. Here I used chicken along with potatoes which were amazingly delectable.

In this the dough is stuffed with chicken- potato filling and then shallow fried to crispy golden brown. In these spring onions are used instead of onions, but I used regular onions. These can be shaped in semi-circle or triangle like I did. These taste good along with curd or any raita. I made carrot raita, which was appetizing.

These bolani, I tasted them for the first time in Costco, where they give samples of food on Saturdays and Sundays. These were so delicious that we ended up buying a couple of packets of bolani. Everybody will like them including the kids. A perfect for guests and during parties. Along with this, I made mango milkshake, in which I added honey instead of sugar which makes it healthy and for a small twist I added cardamom powder, which gave a different and unique taste. Try this out and let me know.

Ingredients:

For dough:

1. All Purpose Flour- 1 Cup
2. Wheat Flour- 1 Cup
3. Salt- as Required
4. Water- for kneading

For Filling:

1. Boneless Chicken- 1 Cup
2. Potatoes- 2 nos
3. Onions- 1 no
4. Garlic Cloves- 3 nos
5. Coriander powder- 1 tsp
6. Turmeric Powder- ½ tsp
7. Pepper Powder- 1 tsp
8. Salt- as required
9. Red Chilli flakes- 1 tsp
10. Coriander Leaves- a bunch

Method:

1. Knead the all-purpose flour, wheat flour and salt using water until the dough forms a ball. The dough should be neither sticky nor dry. Keep this covered with a damp cloth.
2. Boil potatoes and boil chicken. Shred the chicken into small pieces, keep this aside. Mash the boiled potatoes and add this along with the shredded chicken.
3. Add chopped onions, grated garlic, coriander powder, red chili flakes, turmeric powder, pepper powder, salt and chopped coriander leave.
4. Mix well using the hand. Add a little water to make it sticky.
5. Divide the dough into 8- 10 equal balls.
6. Roll the dough into a round disc, scoop 2 tbsp of the chicken- potato filling and spread it on the dough disc leaving the edges.
7. Fold the three sides in the form of a triangle and seal well. Pat well to remove any air pockets. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
8. Heat a pan, smear 1 tbsp of oil and shallow fry on both the sides and enjoy with carrot curd.

Carrot Curd:

1. Carrot- 2 nos
2. Pepper Powder- 1 tsp
3. Salt- as required
4. Beaten Curd- 2 Cups
5. Cumin Powder- 1 tsp
6. Red Chilli Powder- 1 tsp

Method:

• Grate the carrots, add these grated carrots along with cumin powder, red chili powder, pepper powder, salt. Mix these in the beaten curd and serve.

Healthy Mango milkshake:

1. Mangoes- 2 nos
2. Milk- 2 Cups
3. Cardamom Powder- ½ tsp
4. Honey- 4 tbsp

Method:

• Blend everything together in a blender and serve them in big glasses and enjoy.

Orange Marmalade- A post on Father’s Day….

                                                       

     

 Happy Father’s day

Today is father’s day and today’s post is one of my dad’s all-time favorite. Whenever my dad goes out for some grocery shopping, if he sees this marmalade, he will grab this one just like kids grab candies. He likes to spread this marmalade on toast and have it along with his morning tea. Whenever I call them, it will be morning tea time there and my mom and dad leisurely while drinking tea they will be talking to me. In between, he will be telling about this marmalade, which he loves a lot and insists me to buy and try one.

One day I thought of surprising him and this is the outcome, a golden yellow colored delicious marmalade is ready. When I showed him, he thought I bought it from the store. When I told him that it’s homemade, he was surprised and the next thing he told was “when you come here we will make a big batch and store it”. I was really happy that I made my dad’s favorite, but he cannot taste it as I am here.

This marmalade is easy to make, just that it’s a bit time-consuming. I started the process in the afternoon and by evening this got over. If kept in the refrigerator this stays fresh for long. Make sure that the glass jars used in the process are sterilized well. To sterilize the jars, dip the glass jars in hot boiling water for some time, take it out and can the marmalade in the jars.

Today for father’s day, I am dedicating this post to my dad. Try this out and let me know

Ingredients:

1. Oranges- 10 seedless Oranges
2. Sugar- 3 Cups
3. Water- 2 Cups
4. Lemon Juice- 1 no

Method:

1. Cut the oranges in half and squeeze out the juice completely. Using a sharp knife cut all the orange skin in juliennes.
2. Take this orange juice and julienned orange skin in a large non-stick pan. Squeeze out the lemon in the large pan along with orange juice and skin.
3. Add the required amount of sugar and water and cook on a medium flame.
4. Bring the mixture to a boil. Let it cook uncovered for about 30 minutes on a low flame. By now the orange skin will become soft and well cooked.
5. Skim off any foam that forms on top. To make sure that it is ready, place a drop of this orange mixture on a plate and keep this in the refrigerator until it’s cool. If it is firm, neither runny nor too hard, it’s done. Now this will be in golden orange color. ( If the marmalade is runny, then cook for some more time and if it is hard, add more water).
6. Pour the marmalade into clean mason jars, wipe the rims thoroughly using a clean damp towel and store it for up to a year.

Oven Baked Naan and Butter Chicken without Butter

My all time favorite combination of naan and butter chicken. As Ramadan fasting is going on, I will be searching for a variety of dishes for iftar, rather than having regular food. I came across a youtube video, in which they were making chicken korma along with this naan. First I thought of making the same chicken korma which they showed in the video, but then I changed my mind to butter chicken.

In the butter chicken, the chicken is usually baked along with marinated spices and cooked in the sauce. Here the marinated chicken pieces are cooked directly in the silky and creamy gravy. Thinking about this butter chicken, when we visited my elder brother in the UK, my SIL prepared an amazing restaurant style butter chicken. The taste is still lingering in my mouth. This one, which I made is almost the same. I am glad that I tried it and it tasted incredible.

You may be surprised that butter is not added in the butter chicken. The buttery flavor of this dish comes from the cream, which we are adding at least.

After making the butter chicken I came to know that this is the easiest curries which can be prepared within no time. With just a few ingredients we get lots of flavors.

Every curry needs a bread to scoop up the sauce, So I made naan to go along with butter chicken. Usually, naan is made on a direct flame, but here it is made in the oven and within minutes this will be ready. Naan is a soft, puffy, airy bread. This is a fail- proof recipe, which you can try at any time. Try this out and let me know...

Ingredients:

For Naan:

1. All Purpose Flour- 2 cups
2. Yeast- 2 tsp
3. Butter- 2 tbsp
4. Warm Milk- ½ Cup
5. Salt- as required

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Take a tbsp of flour, yeast and 2 tbsps of warm water in a small bowl. Mix using a spoon and rest for 1 min.
3. In a stand mixer bowl, add the flour and butter. Mix well till the butter incorporates well.
4. In this add the yeast solution and slowly add the milk. Don’t add fully, add little by little and a bit of salt.
5. Mix well till it forms a soft dough. Take it out and grease a bowl with oil. Keep the dough cling wrap for about half an hour to an hour.
6. When it is time, take the fermented dough and punch it well. Make about 8- 10 balls and roll it using a rolling pin in an oval shape.
7. Spread water using a brush on top of the rolled dough and sprinkle some sesame seeds on top and press slightly.
8. Place on a greased tray and repeat with the remaining dough and bake them for about 8 minutes and then broil them for about 2 min or till the top becomes slightly brown.
9. Serve them along with butter chicken.

Ingredients for Butter Chicken:

• Chicken- 1 Whole Chicken

For Marination:

1. Yogurt- 1 Cup
2. Ginger and Garlic paste- 1 tbsp
3. Tomato Puree/ Paste- 1 tbsp
4. Cumin powder- 1 tsp
5. Turmeric Powder- ½ Tsp
6. Kashmiri Red Chili Powder- 1 tbsp
7. Kasuri Methi- 1 tbsp
8. Coriander powder- 1 tsp
9. Paprika powder- 1 tsp
10. Garam Masala- 1 tsp
11. Lemon Juice- 1 tbsp

For the Gravy:

1. Oil- 1tbsp
2. Ginger and Garlic paste- 1 tbsp
3. Tomatoes- 2 nos (ground to paste)
4. Cream- ½ Cup

Method:

1. Marinate the cleaned and drained chicken using the marinade and keep this for about 1 hour.
2. Heat a pan with oil, add the ginger and garlic paste, when the raw smell disappears add the ground tomatoes.
3. Saute well till the oil separates, add the marinated chicken and mix well. Cover and cook till the chicken get cooked well.
4. Add the cream, simmer for a minute and switch off the flame.