Mint Chocolate Chip Pancakes

This is a great recipe for all those who like mint chocolate chip pancakes. We usually make the regular pancakes as my kids are big time pancake lovers. I just tried these as my son likes the mint chocolate chip ice cream. There is nothing delightful as towering a stack of fluffy pancakes.

The green food coloring and adding the ground mint leaves are optional as you can add the mint essence. Making pancakes from scratch is easier and doesn't take much time. As toppings you can have whipped cream or chocolate sauce or cut berries or maple syrup. 

If you like pancakes, you must try this recipe....

 Ingredients:

1. Whole Wheat Flour- 1/2 Cup
2. All Purpose Flour- 1/4 Cup
3. Baking Soda- 1 tsp
4. Egg- 1 
5. Milk- 1/2 Cup
6. Butter- 2 tbsp
7. Sugar- 1 tbsp
8. Salt- 1 pinch
9. Vanilla Essence- 1 tsp
10. Mint Leaves- 1 Cup
11. Green Food Coloring- 1-2 drops
12. Chocolate Chips- 1/2 Cup

Method:

1. Grind the mint leaves adding little water to a fine paste.
2. Add this paste along with the whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, egg, baking soda, milk, butter, sugar and salt.
3. Mix well and add little water and vanilla essence until it becomes a pouring consistency. add the chocolate chips and stir.
4. Heat a griddle and pour/ scoop the batter onto the griddle. Serve hot with a drizzle of maple syrup.

Chicken Tikka Biryani- A Finger-licking deliciousness..

Chicken tikka Biryani is a dish in which the marinated chicken pieces are baked in the tikka masala and the flavored basmati rice is added to the Chicken tikka gravy which is then served along with Raita.
Chicken Tikka Masala is a very popular Indian delicacy in which the boneless chicken pieces are marinated in the spice mix of curd and spices and baked till perfection which is then added to a rich, creamy gravy and can be had along with naans/ rotis/ pilaf. This is a perfect appetizer for any occasion.

For this Biryani, I have used chicken with bone instead of boneless, and I made the Biryani using small grain rice which is as tasty and flavorful as the long grain.

For a long time, Biryani has become a part of Indian cuisine and so many different varieties of vegetarian and non-vegetarian Biryani recipes are made. I have been thinking about making this tikka Biryani from a long time and so this weekend I tried it and surprisingly came out well.

The process looks a bit lengthy, but if the chicken tikka is made in advance like a day or two before then it will be very easy to prepare the Biryani. This will be an instant hit among guests if served at a party. This flavorful, spicy, aromatic Biryani will be loved by all. A little bit of foresight and planning for this dish and it can be made quickly.

I know that my last post is also chicken, but couldn't help it as I have to post this Biryani,  because this recipe I was longing to make and came out perfectly well.

I have marinated the chicken for 2 hours, you can marinate the chicken overnight, as the spices will be very well infused into the chicken. By looking at my preparation process don't panic, I will give some easy points to make the process easy and simple.

•  Prepare the tikka masala and store it in an airtight jar. This can be used for any other gravy or for paneer tikka masala.
• The day before making the Biryani, marinate the chicken pieces in the tikka masala and keep refrigerated till the next day.
• You can prepare the Biryani masala and store in the refrigerator.
• You will get perfectly cooked basmati rice if you follow the method which I explained below. You can make the long grain or the small grain rice.
• We ended the Biryani with a small glass of sulaimani/ black tea squeezed lemon. A great digestive drink.

Hope you all will try this out and let me know how it turned.

Ingredients:

For Tikka Masala:

1. Coriander Seeds- 3 tbsp
2. Cumin Seeds- 2 tbsp
3. Pepper Corns- 2 tbsp
4. Red Chillies- 10- 12 nos
5. Cloves- 8- 9 nos
6. Cardamom- 6-7 no
7. Cinnamon- 1" stick
8. Turmeric Powder- 1 tbsp
9. Red Chili Powder- 1 tbsp
10. Dry Mango Powder- 1/2 tbsp (optional)

Method for tikka masala:

• Dry roast all the ingredients under the tikka masala and grind it to a fine powder. Keep this in an airtight jar and use the powder as required.

For Preparing the Chicken Tikka:

1. Chicken- 2 pounds
2. Ginger- Garlic Paste- 1 tbsp
3. Lemon Juice- 2 tbsp
4. Tikka Masala- 3 tbsp
5. Red Chili Powder- 1 Tsp
6. Turmeric Powder- 1 Tsp
7. Salt- as required
8. Curd- 1 Cup

Method:

1. Wash and drain the chicken. Marinate the drained chicken using all the ingredients listed for chicken tikka and let it rest for 1 hour. Arrange the marinated chicken pieces on a parchment paper and store the remaining masala liquid for future use.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and bake the marinated chicken pieces for about 20- 30 minutes, flipping in between. Keep this aside once done.

For the Biryani Masala:

1. Oil- 2 tbsp
2. Onions (chopped)- 3 nos
3. Tomatoes (chopped)- 2nos
4. Ginger- Garlic Paste- 2 tbsp
5. Red Chili Powder- 1 Tsp
6. Turmeric powder- 1 Tsp
7. Cumin Seeds- 1 tsp
8. Pepper Corns- 1 Tsp
9. Slit Green Chilies- 4 nos
10. Garam Masala Powder- 2 Tsp
11. Curd- 1 Cup
12. Coriander and Mint Leaves (chopped)- 1/2 Cup
13. Salt- as required

Method:

1. Heat oil, add the chopped onions along with cumin and peppercorns. When they turn translucent, add the ginger- garlic paste. Saute till the raw smell disappears.
2. Add the chopped tomatoes, coriander and mint leaves. Stir well. Add the garam masala powder, red chili powder, turmeric powder with the required amount of salt.
3. Add the curd along with baked chicken pieces and the remaining tikka masala liquid. Mix well. Let this boil for about 5 minutes on a medium flame. Switch off and keep this aside till the rice is ready.

For the Rice:

1. Basmati Rice- 3 cups
2. Water- 6 Cups
3. Oil- 1 tbsp
4. Clarified Butter- 1 tbsp
5. Whole Spices (cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, star anise) - 1 tbsp
6. Salt- as required

Method:

1. Soak the rice for about 30 minutes. Drain and keep this aside.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil and clarified butter. Add the whole spices and pour 6 cups water. Cover with a lid and let this boil on high flame.
3. Once when the water starts to boil, add the drained rice and close with the lid, let it cook on low flame for exactly 20 minutes.
4. After 20 minutes, switch off the flame, let this rest for 10 minutes. Open, fluff with a fork.

Assembling:

1. Clarified Butter- 1 tbsp
2. Fried Onions- 1/2 Cup
3. Coriander Leaves (chopped)- 1/4 Cup

• In a wide mouthed vessel, layer the chicken tikka masala and rice alternating with a tbsp of clarified butter, fried onions and chopped coriander leaves. Close with a tight lid and serve when needed.

Pani Puri with Homemade Puris

Pani Puri is one of my favorite chaats from childhood. Whenever we go out, we used to thoroughly enjoy the chaat from the roadside street vendors. In every nook and corner, you can see a pani puri stall. We used to have competition, as who will have more puris. Every Indian like pani puri to the core. It is said that this not only satisfies your taste buds but also keeps the kid in you alive.

Once during fasting time, in Bangalore, after breaking the fast I had 30- 35 pani puris without eating anything. I like to have them anytime of the day.

After coming to the US it has become very rare to find pani puri. We will get the pani puri kit in all the Indian stores. I started making it from scratch as we don’t find the puris most of the time in stores. My daughter loves it a lot. She won’t eat anything else if pani puri is there for snacks.

Pani puris have different names like the puchkas, gol gappas and so on. Pani means water and puri are the fried puffed dough balls.

Yesterday was my son’s 3rd birthday and so I called two of my friends and families for a small get together. The menu everything was well decided but got stuck with starters. Then the thought of pani puri came to me as everyone likes them and so I decided to serve pani puri as starters. I made everything ready and before the guests came, I filled the puris with the potato- garbanzo stuffing and kept it along with the mint- coriander water. When they came it was easy for them, just to dip the puris in the water and gulp it. I didn’t make the water spicy as the kids would find it difficult to have. I didn’t make the tamarind- dates chutney as this starter was planned at the last moment and so no time to buy dates. But without that chutney also this tasted perfect. Everyone enjoyed the starters well.

I didn't make the puris for the birthday, as its the last minute idea of making the starter. I got it from the store. I have posted the recipe of puris, which I made last time. Go, make it and eat it. You will feel much better….

Ingredients:

For Puris:

1. Semolina/ Sooji- 1 Cup
2. All Purpose Flour- 1 Tsp
3. Salt- as required
4. Baking Soda- ¼ tsp
5. Water- as required for kneading
6. Oil- 2 tbsp deep frying

Method:

1. In a mixing bowl, take the semolina along with salt, all-purpose flour, 2 tbsp oil and mix well using fingers, so that everything gets incorporated well.
2. Add water little by little and begin to knead. Semolina absorbs water, add water accordingly and knead well.
3. The dough is not too hard or soft. The texture of the dough should be important. After kneading well the dough will form elastic. Gluten strands need to be formed.
4. Cover the dough with a moist cloth, let it rest for 30 minutes. Roll the dough on a clean countertop. Roll it very thin.
5. Cut into small rounds, using a small lid or a cutter. Keep this aside. Roll the remaining dough and repeat the same process till everything is finished.
6. Heat oil and deep fry the above made small round puris. The oil should hot then only the puris will puff. Once they puff up, cook over a medium flame until crisp.

Preparing for Pani Puri:

• Puris- 20- 30 nos
• Tamarind- dates Chutney- 1 small bowl (optional)

For the filling:

1. Potatoes- 3 big nos (boiled and peeled)
2. Garbanzo- 1 Cup (boiled)
3. Onions- 2 nos(Chopped)
4. Chaat Masala Powder- 1 tbsp
5. Lemon Juice- 1 tbsp
6. Amchur Powder- 1 tbsp
7. Salt- as required
8. Red Chilli Powder- 1 tbsp
9. Coriander leaves- 2 tbsp (chopped finely)

Method:

• Mash the potatoes and garbanzo together. Take all the other ingredients in a bowl and mix well and keep this aside.

For the Mint and Coriander Water/ Pani:

1. Coriander Leaves- 1 bunch
2. Mint Leaves- 1 Bunch
3. Ginger- 1 tbsp (grated)
4. Lemon Juice- 2 tbsp
5. Salt- as required
6. Green Chillies- 3 nos
7. Cumin Powder- 1 tbsp
8. Chaat Masala Powder- 1 tbsp

Method:

1. Grind the coriander leaves, mint leaves along with green chilies, ginger and lemon juice by adding little water.
2. When they become paste, Pour this in a big bowl along with 3 Cups of water.
3. Mix along with cumin powder, salt, and chaat masala powder. Let this chill in the refrigerator for some time.

Assembling the pani puri:

1. Crack top of the above-made puris carefully with your thumb.

1. Add 1 tbsp of the potato- garbanzo filling in the puri. Drizzle a drop of tamarind-date chutney. (adding this chutney is optional. Without this chutney also the pani puri will taste amazing)

1. Stir the mint- coriander pani and pour a tbsp of the water in the puri and enjoy an amazing delicious chaat.

1. Repeat the above process with the remaining puris and serve immediately.

Ragda Patties

Different varieties of chaats are available all over India.Chaat is a savory snack that contain four flavors like sour, sweet, spicy and tangy in one plate, which is loved by all.

In my family these chaats have a special place.In India, when we used to roam around, we used to have unlimited pani puri. I ended up having 20- 25 in one go and my daughter’s was the record. She likes these chaats a lot and will eat how much ever is possible.

Today I made ragda patties, which I tasted once and loved the flavors and texture that got blended well with each other.

In this ragda patties the potato patties are topped with dried green peas gravy along with sweet chutney, green chutney , curd, onions and sev. Here I didn’t use green chutney, as my husband is not a big fan of coriander leaves.

In Kerala, chaats are not so famous. They have their own delicacies. Now a days this chaat business is growing up slowly. As I grew up in Andhra, I love all different varieties of food and so chaat is one of them.

After coming here I have started preparing these different variety of chaats at home and enjoying a flavorful, healthy savory. The process of preparing this ragda patties look time consuming, but if you have all the ingredients handy then it is very simple and easy to make.Just try this out and you will come to know how easy it is to prepare them at home.

Ingredients for the Patties:

1. Boiled Potatoes- 3 nos
2. Corn Flour- 3- 4 tbsp
3. Salt- as required
4. Red Chilli Powder- 1 tbsp
5. Oil- for frying

Method for Potato patties:

1. Mash the boiled potatoes, add the corn flour and salt. Mix well. If the mixture looks loose, add little more corn flour and mix.
2. Make medium sized balls, flatten them into round patties. Keep aside.
3. Heat oil in a skillet for shallow frying and fry the above made potato patties till it becomes golden brown in colour and crisp. Remove on a kitchen towel.

Ingredients for Ragda:

1. Dried green Peas- 1 cup
2. Salt- as required
3. Red Chilli Powder- 1 tbsp
4. Turmeric Powder- 1 tsp
5. Asafoetida- a pinch

Method for Ragda:

1. Soak the dried green peas overnight, drain and cook  this dried peas along with turmeric powder, red chilli powder and required amount of salt in a pressure cooker along with water.
2. After about 10- 15 minutes switch off the cooker and open the lid when the pressure falls.
3. The ragda should not be very thick or too watery. Keep this aside.

Sweet Chaat Chutney/ Tamarind Date Chutney:

1. Tamarind- 2 big lemon size
2. Dates- ¼ Cup
3. Jaggery- ¼ Cup
4. Water- 1 Cup
5. Cumin Powder- ½ tsp
6. Coriander Powder- ½ tsp
7. Salt- a pinch
8. Red Chilli Powder- ½ Cup

Method:

1. Boil tamarind and dates in 1 cup water for about 10 min.
2. Add jaggery, mix and let it thicken a bit.
3. Add all the spice powders and cook for about 2-3 min. Switch off the flame.
4. When it gets cooled grind this mixture to a fine paste and store this tamarind- date chutney in an airtight bowl and store this in refrigerator. Use this when required.

Remaining Ingredients for garnishing Ragda Patties:

1. Onions( finely chopped)- 2 nos
2. Tomatoes( chopped)- 1 no
3. Coriander Leaves( chopped)- ¼ Cup( optional)
4. Curd- 1 Cup (with a little sugar mixed)
5. Sev/ Mixture- 1 Cup
6. Cumin Powder- 1 tbsp
7. Chaat Masala- 1 tbsp
8. Lemon Juice- as required

Method for assembling:

1. In a small bowl place two potato patties. Top it with 2 -3 tbsps of ragdas.

1. Over this add the tamarind- date chutney.

1. Top this with sweet curd then with chopped onions, chopped tomatoes.

1. Sprinkle with cumin powder, chaat masala and a few drops of lemon.
2. Sprinkle the chopped coriander leaves and end this amazing chaat by sprinkling the sev/ mixture.