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Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Aloo Paratha



Aloo Paratha



Ingredients 

A. For The Filling

1. Boiled & mashed potatoes 3 cups leveled 
2. Cumin seeds/jeera 1/2 tsp
3. Onions finely chopped 11/4 cup
4. Tomatoes finely chopped 1 cup heaped 
5. Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp 
6. Chilli powder 1/2 tsp 
7. Coriander powder 11/2 tsp 
8. Garam masala 1/3 tsp
9. Salt to taste 
10. Coriander leaves 1/2 cup chopped 
11. Oil 2 tsp

Method Of Preparation 

A. Preparation Of The Filling 

1. Boil the potatoes & mash them really well without any lumps. 





2. Add oil in a skillet. When it gets hot, add the cumin seeds. 

3. When the seeds splutter, add the onions. 

4. When the onions turn translucent add the ginger garlic green Chilli paste. Sauté till the raw smell goes away.  



5. Add the tomatoes & salt & sauté for a minute.



6. Add turmeric powder, Chilli powder, coriander powder & sauté well & cook till the raw smell of the spices go away & the tomatoes turn mushy & well cooked. 



7. Add the potatoes & Garam masala & mix it well with the masala & cook for 30 seconds.




8. Add the chopped coriander leaves & mix well & turn off the gas. 



9. Once cooled, roll the aloo/potato mixture into balls.



B. How To Make Parathas

Check out the video here


Notes

1. To prevent the aloo/potatoes from sticking to the rolling pin/bhelan, always roll the paratha on the side with the stuffing(check below)





2. Do not roll the parathas with the hot stuffing in it, the stuffing will be too sticky & the parathas won't come out good.


For those of you who requested the video of dough making, I promise to post it soon.

Chicken Baida Roti & Paneer Baida Roti



Chicken Baida Roti & Paneer Baida Roti



Ingredients 

A. For The Chicken Fry 

1. Chicken 200 grams 
2. Onions finely chopped 1 cup
3. Tomatoes finely chopped 1 cup
4. Ginger garlic paste 11/2 tbsp
5. Chili powder 1/2 tsp
6. Coriander powder 11/2 tsp
7. Garam masala 1/2 tsp 
8. Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp
9. Yogurt 21/2 tbsp
10. Coriander leaves a handful 
11. Oil 11/2 tbsp 
12. Salt to taste

Other ingredients 

1. Eggs 1 or 2
2. Coriander leaves
3. Finely chopped onions for sprinkling on the filling. 


Method Of Preparation Of The Filling 

A. For Chicken 

1. Add oil in a pan. When the oil gets hot, add the onions, curry leaves. 



2. When the onions turn translucent add the ginger, garlic green chilli paste. Sauté till the raw smell goes away. 



3. Now add the tomatoes & cook till it becomes mushy & well cooked.



4. Add the chicken & then add salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder, Garam masala & yogurt. Mix everything together & cover & cook the chicken on a medium flame.





5. Half way through, open the lid & using a ladle, give the chicken a gentle stir & again cover & cook till done.



6. When you open it, you will see some water in the chicken. Add coriander leaves & Increase the flame to high & cook the chicken until all the water dries out. 



7. Once done, garnish with a few more coriander leaves & turn off the flame.



For The Eggs

1. Break eggs in a bowl & beat them well. Add chopped coriander leaves to it. 


For The Roti 

1. Make the chappati dough & cover it & set it aside.

2. Pinch out a large ball of dough & using a rolling pin, roll out a large chappati.



3. Put it on a Tawa/skillet for 5 seconds on one side & then turn to the other side for 5 seconds. Do it on a medium-low flame. This is done so that it becomes easy to fold the roti after adding the filling. 




4. Add the filling, sprinkle some finely chopped onions on the filling & then pour the eggs on top. Fold the chappati. First fold the two opposite sides & then the other two sides(as shown in the picture).






5. Drizzle oil on all the sides of the roti & cook  until done on one side. When brown spots appear on top, drizzle some oil & flip it over to the other side. Cook the roti on medium heat. 



  6. Once done, remove from the tawa & cut the roti into four halves & serve it hot with green chutney or your favorite dip or ketchup.



Notes:

1. You can make the chicken the way you want to but make sure it's dry & there's no water in the chicken.

2. The chicken needs to be cut very small for the fry(see pic) or the best is to use minced meat.



3. Baida roti is usually made with maida/all purpose flour. I have used whole wheat flour just to keep it healthy.


Paneer Baida Roti 




A. Ingredients For The Filling 

1. Sweet corn kernels 1/4 cup
2. Paneer mashed 1/2 cup
3. Jalapeños sliced 2
4. Black olives 2
5. Red onions 2 tbsp 
6. Black pepper 1 tsp
7. Salt to taste 
8. Shredded mozzarella cheese 11/2 cup
9. Italian seasoning 1 tsp
10. Red chilli flakes 1 tsp

B. Ingredients For The Sauce

1. Chipotle Mayo 1 tbsp
2. Honey Mustard Sauce 2 tbsp 

C. Ingredients For Cooking The Paratha

1. Oil 

D. Other Ingredients 

1. Eggs 1 or 2

Method Of Preparation

A. For The Filling

1. In a bowl add all the ingredients under "A" & using a spoon, mix well & set it aside.


B. For The Sauce

1. In a bowl mix both the ingredients under "B" & keep it aside.


C. For The Paratha 

1. Pinch out a large ball of dough & using a rolling pin, roll out a large chappati.

2. Smear the sauce on the chappati. 

3. Put it on a Tawa/skillet for 5 seconds on one side & then turn to the other side for 5 seconds.

4. Add the filling & then pour the eggs on top. Fold the chappati. First fold the two opposite sides & then the other two sides(as shown in the picture for chicken baida roti). 

5. Drizzle oil on all the sides of the roti & cook  until done on one side. When brown spots appear on top, drizzle some oil & flip it over to the other side. Cook the roti on medium heat. 

6. Once done, remove from the tawa & cut the   roti into four halves & serve it hot with the your favorite dip or ketchup.













D. For The Eggs

1. Break eggs in a bowl & beat them well. Add chopped coriander leaves to it. 

Notes:

1. Be very careful while adding salt as cheese already has salt in it.

2. You can use any kind of filling you want. You may use pizza/pasta sauce, bechemal sauce, mayonnaise, pesto, green chutney or anything of your choice to smear on the roti.

3. Do not roll out the chappatis too thick.

4. You can use the veggies of your choice for the filling. 

5. It is important to knead the flour into a soft & smooth dough & let it rest for 15-20 minutes.

6. Add more cheese if you want to.

7. If there's left over filling & sauce, then you can use it use it for your sandwiches the next morning :-) it tastes too good.


Attachments area

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Strawberry Jam Without Sugar & Pectin



Strawberry Jam Without Sugar & Pectin 






Ingredients 

1. Strawberries 4 lbs
2. Honey 21/2 cups
3. Lemon juice 2 tbsp 

Method Of Preparation 

1. Wash the strawberries well & pat them dry & remove the stalks.



2. Add them in a pot & mash them just twice or thrice. You don't need to mash them all well now. Just a light mash will do. 



3. Turn on the gas on a medium flame & mash well for a minute.



4. When it begins to boil, lower the flame & mash the strawberries well. You don't need to mash them to a paste. Leave some bits here & there. Let the berries cook.




5. As the strawberries boil further, you will see it rise up in the pot. At this point, stir well & add the lemon juice. Stir well. Let it boil.




6. After 15 minutes, add the honey & mix well & cook on a low flame till the jam thickens. It took more than an hour for my jam to thicken. 




7. When the jam becomes warm, add it into sterilized glass bottles & cover with a tight fitting lid & once cooled, leave it in the fridge. 



How To Know When The Jam Is Done

1. Take a ladleful of jam & from a height, drop it from the ladle & if it falls off the ladle immediately in one drop, then it means your jam hasn't thickened even a bit.



2. If it falls off as two drops, then it means your jam needs some more time of cooking. 



3. If it falls off the ladle as a sheet or sticks to the ladle & takes time to fall, then it means your jam is done.



Another way to check for doneness is 

1. Place a plate in the freezer for 10 minutes. Drop a spoonful of jam on the plate & leave it back into the freezer for a minute. If the jam doesn't fall off the plate quickly, then it means your jam is done. When you run your finger on the blob of jam, it it has formed a wrinkle on the surface of the jam, it's done. If your able to run your finger through it, it needs another 5-10 minutes of cooking before you check again.

How To Sterilise Glass Jars 

1. I suggest you use Ball glass jars for storing the jam. 

2. Wash the glass jar with soapy water before sterilizing it. 

3. Bring a big pot of water to boil. When it comes to a boil, turn off the flame & gently, drop the glass jar in the water & let it stay there for 10 minutes. Remove from the water & let it dry. In another small pot, bring water to boil & sterilize the lids in the water.





Notes: 

1. The store-bought jam is always very thick as it has pectin in it. I have not added pectin so in order to make your jam thick like the store-bought ones you need to let it cook for a longer time till it becomes thick. 

2. Another tip is, if your picking strawberries to make jam, then try to get the ones which has a light green tip(see pic). The green color in the strawberries act as a natural pectin which makes your jam thick.



3. Another way to boost pectin in your jam is to add apples along with strawberries. Apples contain a very high level of pectin & that will make the jam thick. 

4. You can replace honey with brown sugar or white sugar. 

5. My strawberries weren't sweet so I added 21/2 cups of honey. You can increase or decrease the quantity of sugar or honey in your jam.