Chole/Chickpea curry restaurant style

One of the most famous north Indian curry which is soooo famous as day to day, special event, wedding or religious function curry that it is not surprising to have various styles of making it. Every household have its own style of making chole. Today I am sharing my version of making chole. 

This special curry have lots of spices that makes it so delicious, lip smacking and aromatic dish.

Ingredients:
 2 cups Chole or chickpea soaked preferably overnight or atleast 5-6 hours.
 2 table spoon oil.
2-3 dry bay leaves
3-4 cloves.
salt as per taste
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp garam masala

 Dry Ingredients:  
1 black Cardamom or badi ilaichi.
1 tsp Cumin seeds/jeera
1 tsp whole coriander/ sabut dhania
1 small stick cinnamon/ daalchini
1 tablespoon anardaana
2-3 whole dried red chilli/ sabut laal mirch.
5-6 sabut laung/ clove

Wet Ingredients for paste:
3 medium tomatoes chopped
2 medium onion chopped
1 inch ginger
6-7 cloves of garlic.
8-10 resins/kishmish if u dont have you can use grapes/orange or 2 dates(khajoor)

Method:

1. Preparation:
Boil pre soaked chole until soft but not completely mashed. Mash 1-2 table spoon of chole and mix, that will make ur gravy thick.

Now dry roast all dry ingredients until lightly brown.

 Let it cool completely and grind to a fine powder,

Now make a paste out of all wet ingredient.

2. Assembly

Take a deep pan and add 2 tablespoon of oil. Add dried bay leaves, cloves and fry till light brown in color. Now add tomato onion paste and cook until oil separates.

Add salt, turmeric powder, coriander powder, red chilli powder and cook for 30 seconds until spices get cooked. Now add roasted spice powder and cook for more 30 seconds until these spices release beautiful aroma.

Add boiled chickpeas and mix well, add water as per required consistency. 

Taste test for salt. Boil for 10 minutes on medium temperature. Finish with garam masala.

Serve hot with Bhature, Naan, Roti or Rice.

Please leave feedback.

Mava/Khoya coconut Gujhiya

Holi without this awesome sweet feels incomplete. Crispy dryfruit, coconut and mava filled dumplings soaked in sugar syrup..This sweet is heavenly yummilicious. Everyone have their own way of making this sweet and various kind of fillings. There is no hard and fast science to make this, only some tips to make them crispy. so here presents my version of Gujhiya.

Ingredients:

Pastry:

2 cup plain flour

3 tbs ghee melted

1/4 tsp salt

lukewarm water.

Filling:

500 Gm khoya/mava

1/2 cup dessicated coconut

1/2 cup coarsly ground nuts(cashew,pistacheo, almond)

2 tbs crushed pistacheo for garnish

1 tsp cardomom powder

3/4 cup castor sugar. ( sugar quantity can be adjusted as per individual taste)

Sugar syrup:

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

2 tsp milk

Procedure:

Dough:

Add salt and melted ghee in flour and mix well to get bread crumbs like mixture.

Now add lukewarm water little at a time and prepare a firm dough. Do not knead the dough too much. Cover with cling wrap or damp kitchen towel and keep aside to set for at least 1/2 an hour.

Sugar syrup:

Add 1 cup sugar to 1 cup water and cook on medium flame.

When sugar is melted add 2 tsp of milk.

collect and discard scum collected on top.

Cook until you get 1 string consistancy. Keep aside.

Filling: 

In a heavy bottomed pan take mava and keep stiring on medium flame for 2 minutes.

Add coconut and ground nuts, Keep stiring on low medium flame until u get a golden brown mixture.

Add sugar and Cardomom powder, mix well and switch off the gas. keep aside for cooling down.

Now devide the dough in 20 equal parts.

Take one part and roll it like a small poori.

Now add 1 table spoon of filing 

wet the circumfrance, fold and seal the edges properly so that filling does not come out while frying.

Make all of them and keep aside.

keep the dough and shaped Gujhiya covered all the time otherwise they will become dry.

Now heat oil in a deep bottomed pan and fry gunjhiya on medium flame until golden brown. Do not fry them on high as it'll result into softer gujhiya.

Drain on a paper towel and dip in hot sugar syrup nicely. 

Take out gujhiya gently and sprinkle with crushed pishtacheo while still warm.

Cool them slightly before serving. Enjoy your yummilicious Gujhiya. Happy Cooking, please leave feedback as it's important  for me to improve :)

 

Nutty Bharva Baigan/ stuffed brinjal

One of my most favourite beigan recepi. Even a brinjal hater will appreciate this nutty yummy dish. I am making this dish since my college time and it never failed to impress.

Ingredients

300-400  gms small beingan. cut and keep the base intact like we do for bharwa baigan, soak in salted water for 15-20 mins.

1/4 cup roasted peanuts, 

1/4 cup coconut grated fresh or dried but fresh will give better taste.

1/4 cup white sesame seeds

1 lemon sized tamarind 

2 medium size onions sliced fried lightly brown 

8-10 garlic pods

small piece of ginger

1 tsp red  chilli powder

1/4 tsp turmeric powder 

2 tsp dhania powder 

1 tsp garam masala. 

Procedure:

Roast the peanuts, coconut and sesame seeds separately without oil on low flame till light golden

Fry sliced onions in little bit of oil.

Now grind roasted peanuts, coconut sesame seed, onions, ginger, garlic into thick paste by adding little water.

Heat 1 tbs oil in a heavy bottom pan. add the prepared mixture and keep cooking on low flame until oil seprates.

As oil begins separating add the dry spices and cook for 1 minute stirring continuosly. 

Add tamarind pulp mix well and add the brinjals.

Adjust salt, add some water and cook on sim until beigans are tender. 

garnish with some coriander leaves. can be served with roti or rice.

Do try guys and give feedback. Happy cooking :)

Chocolate Fudge Brownie

Soft melt in mouth, yummiest fudge brownies. Tried many recepis and I can say this is so far the best one. Brownies are bit chewy on top and perfectly fudgy inside takes you to the heaven of taste. These are the easiest as well with the minimum ingredients :) 

 Ingredients:

Butter 200 gm + some extra to grease the pan

200 gm cooking chocolate chopped

3 eggs + 2 egg yolks

3/4 cup plain flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

11/4 cup sugar

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven at 170 C and grease a brownie pan with butter or line with baking paper.

2. Microwave chopped cooking chocolate and butter together until chocolate is melted and smooth. Mix well and keep aside to cool.

3. Whisk eggs and egg yolks in a bowl and add to chocolate mixture. Choclate Mixture should not be hot otherwise eggs will become scrambled. Mix well.

4. Sift flour and cocoa powder in bowl. Add sugar and stir to mix dry ingredients.

5 . Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix gently. Do not over mix as it'll result in hard brownies.

6. Pour in prepared brownie pan. Smooth the top and bake in preheated for about 40 minutes. 

7. Skewer inserted will come out with bits of scrambles. It should not wet but do not wait until toothpick or skewer comes out clear. Over baked brownies will become hard.

8. Take out and let them cool for few minutes outside and then 2-3 hours in fridge to set completely.

Enjoy your yummilicious brownies as it is or with whipped cream, ganache or icecream.

 

Besan Ladoo

Besan ladoos are one of the easiest yummiest and healthiest sweet from India. Nutty and sweet aroma of Chickpea flour fill your home while making this sweet. This protein filled sweet is equally loved by children as well as grown ups.

There are various methods people make this sweet. Method I am sharing here is my mom's recepi and full proof. You can make this sweet entirely from chickpea flour but adding little bit of samolina add crunch to the ladoos. We love it in this way but only chickpea flour ladoos are equally tasty.

Ingredients:

1.5 cup chickpea flour or besan

1 tbs Samolina

1/2 cup ghee or clarified butter.

3/4 cup sugar, powder it or you can use boora or tagar.

1/2 tsp cardimom powder( optional)

almond flakes for garnishing.

Method.

1. sieve the chickpea flour in a heavy bottomed pan, Add samolina and dry roast on medium flame for about 5 minutes untill a sweet aroma starts coming. Color will change slightly at this stage.

2. Add ghee and cook on medium sim flame until you'll get beautiful gloden color and raw smell of chickpea flour is gone.

3. Switch off the gas and let the mixture cool. When it is just warm add powdered sugar and cardimom powder. Mix well and make small balls or ladoos.

4. Garnish with sliced almonds.

Your yummiest ladoos are ready. Enjoy and leave feed back please. :)  

Crunchy Green Salad

My easy peasy healthy yummy creamy crunchy Green Salad. Replace with lunch or dinner and make your weight loss much easier. Complete meal under 80 Calories and soo yummy that you can have it everyday. Best part can be made in just 5 minutes with few ingredients.

Celery is the main ingredient of this salad which is considered as negative calorie food as our body require to consume more energy to digest celery than it produce. It also contain a good amount of water to keep your body hydrated.

I am not a very healthy eater and do not like salad much but nuttiness, Calories  and crunchyness in this salad make me wants more with each bite.

so lovely people wait over and here comes the recepi or if I correct my words 'procedure'.

Dressing:

2 Tbs home made low fat yogurt

a pinch of salt

1/4 tsp crushed pepper

1 tsp Chia seeds 

Mix everything well and keep aside for 5 minutes so chia seeds absorb moisture.

Salad:

1 Celery stalk diced

1 medium size carrot peeled and diced

1/4 cup chopped cabbage 

1/4 cup diced cucumber

1/4 cup baby spinach

2 tsp sunflower seed ( you can use any seed mix)

Mix all the ingredients and toss with yogurt dressing. Taste salt and add more according to your taste.

Serve immediately or chill in fridge and serve.

Enjoy your low calorie but healthy and filling salad. Any questions feedback and suggestions welcome :)

Wholewheat brown bread

 

Ingredients: will yield 2 loaves

3 cups wholewheat flour

2 cups white flour use as required and some extra for kneading

2 tbs sugar

1 tbs salt

4 tsp active dry yeast

21/4 cups very warm water

2 tbs olive oil

melted butter for greasing

Method:

In a big bowl stir wholewheat flour, sugar, salt, olive oil and yeast until well mixed

Add warm water and beat with electric mixer or manually for 2 minutes untill you'll get a mixer with no lumps.

Stir remaining white flour adding 1 cup a time until dough become easy to knead or handle. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead well for 10 minutes. you will get a very smooth and springy dough.

Grease a large bowl with butter. Place dough in bowl, cover with cling wrap and leave in warm place for 1 hour. Dough will rise and get doubled in size.

Gently deflate and devide in 2 equal parts. Roll each part in a reactangle and roll toghtly. Fold both eands and pinch to seal the roll.

Place loaves seam side down in greased loaf pans. brush loaves slightly with melted butter, loosely cover and leave for 45 minutes. It'll rise and double in size.

Preheat oven on 210C and bake the loaves on lowest rack for about 25-30 minutes, until you hear a hollow sound on tap and loaves are golden brown.

Remove loaves on cooling rack and immediately brush with melted butter. Let  the loaves cool completely before slicing, so that you can get neat and perfect slices 

Your perfect bread is ready for toast and sandwiches. :) Happy Baking. Any questions and suggestions always welcome :)