Broccoli Aloo Paratha (Broccoli and Potato stuffed Indian Flatbread)

Paratha is a very common Indian flat bread but most of us get intimidated by the thought of making it. At least I thought of it as a laborious endeavor until I realized that once you get the technique right, making them was a breeze. I will attempt to give you a step-by-step guide to get your paratha to look and taste perfect without the concerns of making a totally shapeless paratha or getting the stuffing out while rolling.

Makes 8 Parathas

Ingredients
2 1/2 C -Whole wheat flour
1 small - Potato (Boiled)
1 C - Broccoli florets
1/4 Tsp - Jeera powder
3/4 Tsp - Chat Masala
Cilantro (Finely chopped)
Olive Oil Spray
Warm Water
Salt

Directions
To make the paratha dough, mix wheat flour with warm water, salt and oil. Knead well. Let the dough rest for at least 10-15 mins
Steam the broccoli florets until they can be coarsely mashed. Boil the potato and mash it well. Mix the mashed potato, broccoli, jeera, cilantro, salt, chat masala and keep it aside.
Take some of the paratha dough (a little bigger than a golf ball) and roll it into a circle (about 3.5" width). Add 2 Tbsp of the broccoli-aloo (potato) mix.

Seal the dough back into a rough ball as shown below.

Dust the work area with flour to make sure your parathas don't stick while rolling them. Keeping the sealed side down, put some flour on top of the dough and start rolling. Keep rotating the paratha after every stroke to get a perfectly round shape. Sometimes you might see air pockets while rolling but just pat that area down with your hands and continue to roll. 
Heat the Tawa or griddle and cook the paratha on both sides until its golden brown and just right. Take the paratha off the heat and spray some olive oil.
Serve hot with Raita and Pickle.

Lasagna Al Forno

Sinful indulgence turned easy on your waistline!! In order to make it even more "figure-friendly" you could make this dish either with Lean ground Turkey or Chicken to cut down a few more calories.
The first time I made Lasagna, I really messed up. I assumed that like any pasta, Lasagna would also need to be cooked in boiling water,but ended up with this huge lump of lasagna sheets stuck together. So please make sure you check the box for directions as some lasagna does not need to be cooked prior to baking. It gets cooked from the moisture from the sauce.
This dish is really simple to make, therefore do not get overwhelmed by seeing a long list of ingredients . The Meat sauce starts off with Mirepoix (French term for a combination of onion, carrots and celery). The meat and the wine gives it a bold flavor. Never use cooking wine. Always cook with a wine you would drink. I used Merlot and Shiraz. Lasagna was never one among my favorites just because I was not too keen about the Marinara sauce. But this recipe calls for Bechamel sauce, so I gave it a try and fell in love with Lasagna all over again. Bechamel sauce is one of my favorite white sauces and its rich, creamy, velvety spiced addition makes this dish complete.

Serves 5

Ingredients for meat sauce
1 Tsp Olive oil
1 Onion finely chopped
2 Carrot finely chopped
2 Stick celery finely chopped
4 Cloves garlic crushed
1 Lb (500gm)- Lean ground Beef or Turkey or Chicken
2/3 C (150 ml) - Red wine
4 tbsp - Tomato Ketchup
4 Tomatoes or 400 gm of canned tomatoes
1 Tsp dried Oregano
Freshly ground black pepper

Ingredients for Bechamel sauce
2 Tbsp Butter
1 1/2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 C (50 gm) All purpose flour
2 C (500 ml) milk
Grated nutmeg
Pepper
6-8 Lasagna sheets
4 Tbsp Parmesan cheese grated

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400F.
Meat Sauce

• Heat oil in heavy sauce pan and add onion, carrot, celery and garlic and cook for 5 minutes until onions are soft.
• Add the steak mince to the pan.
• Mix well and fry until brown breaking up the lumps. 
• Stir in remaining meat sauce ingredients and cover and cook for 30 min.

Bachamel Sauce

• Melt butter in sauce pan with oil and add flour mixing well gradually stir in the milk bringing the temperature up to a simmering point whisking continuously until the sauce has thickened.
• Add the nutmeg and black pepper to taste.
• Spoon as layer the meat sauce over the base of the oven proof dish cover with a layer of lasagna followed by 1/3 of the sauce. 
• Repeat this process covering the lasagna with the remaining sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and bake for 30-35 mins or until golden brown and bubbling.

Notes and Tips

• I used store bought Lasagna sheets that dint need any precooking/ boiling

Mussles in White Wine sauce

Couple of years ago I happened to visit Iron Chef Michael Symon's restaurant here in Cleveland called Lolita to celebrate my husband's birthday. There I had a Mussel dish which was so rich in taste that the flavor still lingers. So that's the inspiration for this dish. I wanted to cook mussels in wine but wanted to introduce some Asian ingredients in it like ginger and cilantro.I started off the dish with browning some bacon... Yes, you are right..I used bacon..Come on...I too can splurge on a few extra calories some days.But hey - Its just 3 slices of bacon so its approximately just 180 calories and 60 cals from fat. I think I can deal with that. The bacon adds a smoky flavor to this dish which gives it a whole different twist!
We have this dish with sliced baguette toasted with olive oil, dunk it into the pool of mussels to soak up all the sauce. It is a fun meal at our family table.
Whenever I feel like eating seafood this is definitely one of my top safe few picks.

Serves 3

Ingredients

1 Lb - Mussels with shell
3 Slices - Bacon
1 1/2 Tsp - Ginger (finely minced)
3 Cloves - Garlic (crushed)
1/4 C - Red Onion (finely minced)
1/2 - Tomato (finely chopped)
1/2 Tsp - Chilly Powder
1 Tbsp - Hot sauce
3/4 C - White wine (I used Chardonnay)
3/4 C - Beef or Chicken Broth
1/4 Tsp - Lime Zest
Cilantro or Parsley for garnish

Directions

• In a heavy bottomed pan brown some chopped bacon. 
• Take out the bacon and reserve 1 tablespoon of bacon fat. 
• To this add some finely chopped garlic, ginger and red onions. 
• Add chilly powder followed by tomatoes. 
• Cook the tomatoes until they are really soft almost like a sauce. 
• Add hot sauce, chicken broth and wine. 
• Add mussels and let it come to a boil and then simmer for another 6 minutes. 
• Garnish with lime zest, finely chopped cilantro. 
• Serve it with some sliced baguette toasted with olive oil.

NOTE:
My personal preference is to serve this dish at least an hour after it has been made so that you give the mussels ample time to soak up all the flavor from the sauce.

Stir-fry Chicken and Vegetables

A healthy, tasty and colorful treat to you and your palate. This dish is a medley of succulent chicken, crunchy vegetables, nutty sesame oil, heat from the chilly flakes and to top it all off, some garlicky soy sauce. Each bite is full of flavor and texture.
The key to a good stir-fry is to cook the vegetables just right, with a crunch to them. If you cook it for too long the vegetables loose their color and turn soggy and limp, which is not what you would want.
I have tried different variations of stir-fry but cooking with sesame oil really brings the best out of this dish. Hope you enjoy it.

Serves 4

Marinate

3/4 lb - Chicken breast (cut into thin strips)

1 Tbsp - Low sodium soy sauce
3 Cloves - Garlic (crushed)
2 Tsp - Ginger (crushed)
1 1/2 Tsp - Tomato Ketchup

For Stir fry

Sesame Oil

1/2 Tsp - Red Chilly flakes
1/2 Tbsp - Garlic (finely minced)
4 1/2 C -Vegetables (Yellow Bell Pepper, Red Bell Pepper,Broccoli Florets, Zucchini, Yellow Squash)
1/2 - Onion

For the Stir fry sauce

3/4 C - Chicken Broth

1 1/2 Tsp - Corn Starch
1 1/2 Tsp - Honey
2 1/2 Tbsp - Soy Sauce (Low sodium)
1 Tbsp - Hot sauce (Tabasco or similar sauce)

Directions

Marinate the chicken with soy sauce, tomato ketchup, ginger and garlic for at least 1 hr.

Heat oil in a wok. Add the red chilly flakes and garlic.Add the chicken and cook for 10 mins or until the chicken is done. Remove the chicken from pan and set aside.
Add little oil to the pan and add the onion and vegetables.Saute for 8-10 mins. Remove the vegetables from pan and set aside.
For the sauce mix the chicken broth, soy sauce, hot sauce and honey with the corn starch. Now add it to the wok stirring it continuously until thick.
Now add the cooked vegetables and chicken and mix well.
Serve with White Rice, Brown Rice or Quinoa. Enjoy !!

Yellow Squash and Zucchini with Coconut (Thenga Kothu)

I like to try out seasonal vegetable and now its the season for summer squashes like yellow Squash and Zucchini,especially out here in the North East US. This inspired me to make this simple, yet flavorful dish.
When I first came to the US, I used to miss the myriad variety of vegetables that we used to get back in India and felt that the choices here were limited. But I was totally wrong. I realize now that due to the four different seasons and large range of climatic variations here, we actually get a whole variety of different fresh seasonal vegetables.
This blog is a platform for me to share some of my ideas and experiments especially with uncommon vegetables and ingredients not typically used in Indian kitchens.  Please try out these vegetables as I am sure you will enjoy them for their full-flavor, health benefits and the variety they offer. I will definitely try to post more recipes so stay tuned in ..Bon Appetit!!!

Serves 4

Ingredients
2 - Yellow squash
2- Zucchini
1/2 - Medium Onion (sliced)
3 - Garlic cloves (finely minced)
1/2 C - Coconut Pieces (Thenga Kothu)
3/4 Tsp - Red Chilly Powder
1/4 Tsp - Turmeric Powder
1/4 Tsp - Jeera powder
Oil
Salt
Few curry leaves

Directions
Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Add garlic followed by onions. Saute until the onions are soft. Add red chilly powder, turmeric and jeera. Saute for 2 mins. Add the squash, zucchini, curry leaves, salt and coconut. Mix well. Keep the pan covered for 10 mins on medium low fire.Check in between to prevent the vegetables from burning or sticking onto your pan. DO NOT ADD WATER TO COOK. These vegetables will give out water which will help them cook. Remove the lid and cook on medium high until all the water is absorbed. Enjoy with Rice, Roti, Quinoa or Pita!!

Blueberry Smoothie with Nutella and Peanut Butter

I love smoothies and so does everyone in my family. Packed with antioxidant, vitamins, minerals and not to forget amazing flavor from the fruits and a hint of Nutella and peanut butter this thick luscious smoothie is surely a stunner!! Great for breakfast, brunch or as a snack!
Make 6 cups of smoothie. Serves 2-3

Ingredients
2 C - Frozen Blueberries
2 - Apples (Skinned and diced)
1 - Ripe Banana
6 - Strawberries
2 Cup- Fat free Milk
2 Tablespoon - Nutella
2 Tablespoon - Peanut Butter

Directions
Mix all the ingredients in a blender. Serve immediately. Enjoy !

Whole Wheat Bread Pizza

Here is my take on a healthy, super quick and easy pizza. Curb your pizza craving even quicker than it would take the pizza delivery guy to get to your door. I absolutely love Pizza and I get cravings pretty often so I often take resort to this recipe when I don't have the time and energy to make the pizza dough but still want to eat a good loaded healthy pizza with the toppings of my choice.

Makes 4 bread pizza

Ingredients
4 slices - Whole wheat bread
4 Tbsp -Tomato Ketchup
4 slice - Fat free cheese or 1/2 C any grated cheese
1/2 C - Cooked Chicken Breast (diced) OR 1/2 C Tofu for Veg Pizza
1/2 C - Veggies (such Green Bell pepper / Tomato / Onion/ Mushrooms / Spinach / Artichokes)
2 Tbsp - Sliced Olives
1 Tbsp - Chopped Pickled Jalapeno
1/4 Tsp - Oregano
1/4 Tsp - Red pepper flakes
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Arrange 4 slices of bread on a baking sheet lined with aluminium foil. Smother 1 Tbsp of Tomato ketchup on each slice. Add the chicken/ tofu or meat of your choice. Add your choice of vegetables on top. Add Olives and Pickled Jalapeno as desired. Add cheese on top and sprinkle some oregano and red pepper flakes. Bake for 15 mins or until the cheese melts.

NOTE:
*You can use any cheese you have in hand. Either cheese slices or grated cheese
*You can substitute the chicken breast with Sausage, Ham,Deli meat/Lunch meat, Rotisserie Chicken, Brats, Kielbasa, Pepperoni,Cooked Soy Chunks, Tofu, Paneer
*You can use any sauce as the base : Tomato ketchup, Pizza sauce, Marinara sauce, any White sauce like Alfredo, Barbecue Sauce.
* Always saute the mushrooms before baking the pizza else they might make your pizza soggy
* If you are using fresh Tomatoes, dry the excess juice from the tomato with a paper towel.

Low fat Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

Those who really know me well, might be aware that I am always on a "eat healthy and cook healthy" mission. Recently my husband and I agreed to try out a healthier lifestyle for a period of time to see if we could loose weight but still consume all the right nutrients.(he he ..I know, we are a crazy couple). An essential part of the plan was regular exercise! After having my baby I am yet to get back to my old waistline so I quickly agreed. We are both still working on our goals but my husband has a HUGE hurdle ..a SWEET TOOTH. He simply cant call it a day without eating some dessert, which is usually some chocolate or cake and ice cream. One day I just happened to check the ingredients that were in the commercial ice cream and I was shocked to see the weird constituents.This left me wondering why I should not try making my own "healthy"ice cream. I therefore bought an ice cream maker and it was just $24 @Costco which is not a bad deal for a Cuisinart! Here's a simple recipe for low-fat vanilla ice cream. This version has all the richness you'll need but fewer calories and fat than store-bought premium ice cream.It tastes a lot like frozen custard. Enjoy!!

Recipe Adapted from here

8 servings
Ingredients
1 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
1 tablespoon water
3 cups low-fat milk, divided
3 large egg yolks
1 14-ounce can nonfat sweetened condensed milk
2 Tsp Vanilla

Directions

• Sprinkle gelatin over water in a small bowl; let stand,stirring once or twice, while you make the base for the ice cream.
• Pour 1 1/2 cups milk into a large saucepan. 
• Add vanilla. 
• Heat the milk mixture over medium heat until steaming.
• Whisk egg yolks and condensed milk in a medium bowl. 
• Gradually pour in the hot milk, whisking until blended. 
• Return the mixture to the pan and cook over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the back of the spoon is lightly coated, 3 to 5 minutes. 
• DO NOT BRING TO BOIL OR THE CUSTARD WILL CURDLE. 
• Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean large bowl. 
• Add the softened gelatin and whisk until melted. 
• Whisk in the remaining 1 1/2 cups milk. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours.
• Whisk the ice cream mixture and pour into the canister of an ice cream maker.

Another Ice Cream Recipe
Goat Cheese Ice Cream with Rum Figs


Notes & Tips

• Jazz it up with stir-ins, like crumbled cookies, cake, brownies, toasted nuts or chopped fruit.
• Stir-ins should be small, about the size of a pea. 
• 1 cup of stir-ins per quart of ice cream is recommended.

Guacamole

Say YES to Avocado. You can satisfy both your taste buds and eat healthy with this dish. Guacamole is an Avocado based dip. I use it as a dip for chips and also in burgers, sandwiches, burritos and wraps for an interesting and healthy, fresh twist !!
Avocado helps increase good cholesterol (HDL) in your body and its abundant in vitamins and minerals.
I usually get intimidated when it comes to buying a fresh avocado so here are a few tips for you. The best way to tell if a Avocado is ready for immediate use is to gently squeeze the fruit in the palm of your hand. Ripe, ready-to-eat fruit will be firm yet will yield to gentle pressure. Avoid fruit with dark blemishes on the skin or an over-soft fruit. To ripen Avocado, place the fruit in a plain brown paper bag and store at room temperature until ready to eat (usually two to five days). Soft ripe fruit can be refrigerated until it is eaten, but not for more than two or three days.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients
2 - Ripe Avocado
1/2  - Tomato
1 Tbsp - Lime Juice
1 - Green chilly (minced)
1/2 - Onion (approx 1/2 C)
Salt to taste
Cilantro for garnish
How to cut an Avocado?
Grip the avocado gently on one side with your hand. Cut the avocado lengthwise around the seed. Open the two halves to expose the pit.Gently tap the pit with the blade of the knife. Make sure you use enough force so that the knife edge wedges into the pit, but not into your hand.I generally just tap it very gently a few times, each with increasing pressure, until the knife sticks in the pit.Twist the pit out of the avocado with the knife blade and discard. Scoop out the avocado flesh with a spoon

Directions
Mash the Avocado leaving it slightly chunky. Toss in the remaining ingredients and mix. Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface of the guacamole to prevent air oxidation. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Enjoy !!

Vegetable Quinoa Pulav (Pilaf)

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) is a grain that comes from the Andes Mountains of South America. It was introduced to me by my colleague at work who is a Vegan and since then I have also noticed articles about it online and in magazines. Initially I used to eat plain cooked Quinoa as a substitute for rice. Gradually I started trying it out in different recipes and realised that the options are endless.You can buy Quinoa at Costco, Walmart, Kroger, Giant Eagle, your local supermarkets and even on Amazon.

Quinoa is gaining in popularity as a super grain. It is an amino acid-rich (protein) seed that has a fluffy, slightly crunchy texture with a somewhat nutty flavor when cooked. Quinoa contains more protein than any other grain.Quinoa is light, tasty, and easy to digest and doesn't get sticky like most other grains.

Ingredients
1 Cup - Quinoa
1.5 Cup - Frozen Vegetable Mix
1/2 Cup - Onion (Chopped)
1 Clove - Garlic (Finely chopped)
1/2 Cup Tomato (Chopped)
1/2 Tsp - Jeera/ Cumin
1/2 Tsp - Pepper
3 Tsp - Fresh Lime Juice
Salt to taste
Cilantro for Garnish

Directions to cook Quinoa

• Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a non stick sauce pan.
• Add 1 cup quinoa, bring back to boil, cover, cook over medium heat for12 minutes or until the quinoa has absorbed all the water. 
• Remove from heat , fluff, cover and let it stand for 15 minutes. Yields 4 cups of cooked quinoa

Directions for Quinoa Pulav

• Heat the oil in a pan. 
• Add Jeera and then add garlic and onions. 
• When the onions are translucent, add the tomatoes and saute for 5 mins. 
• Now add the frozen mixed vegetables. 
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Cook until all the water has been absorbed. 
• Add quinoa and mix well. 
• Add lime juice and more salt if needed. Garnish with cilantro.

Notes and Tips:
* You can cook the quinoa in vegetable/ Chicken or Beef stock.
* You can add Fried cashews and Onions to garnish the dish
* You can substitute cooked quinoa for rice or even use it as plant protein in smoothies or shakes

Chocolate Orange Cake

This recipe is dedicated to you "chocoholics"out there. This cake is subtly moist and spongy with a hint of zesty orange which gives it a unique flavor and aroma. I got the idea of combining chocolate and orange after eating Kellogg's Special K Bliss Orange & Chocolate breakfast bar.
As you might know, cocoa is supposed to be good to your health. The natural antioxidants that are found in tea and certain fruits are also found in unsweetened cocoa. So enjoy in moderation as apart of a healthy and active lifestyle.
Cake baking is such a joy to me as my lil daughter gets really excited to see the cake baking in the oven. She religiously watches the cake take form while I keep the oven lights on for her. She calls every cake a 'Happy Bday Cake' :)

Recipe adapted from here

Makes a 13*9 inch cake

Ingredients
2 c Sugar
1 3/4 C All-purpose flour
3/4 C Cocoa Powder
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp salt
2 Eggs
1 C Milk
1/2 C Vegetable Oil
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 C Boiling Water
1 tbsp Orange Zest
Walnut as garnish (optional)

Directions

• Heat oven to 355F. 
• Grease and flour a 13*9 or two 9" round baking pans. 
• Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. 
• Sift the dry ingredients through a sieve to incorporate air. This step will give you a nice fluffy and spongy cake. 
• Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed for 2 min. 
• Add the dry ingredients little by little. 
• Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). 
• Add the orange zest. 
• Pour it into the prepared pan. Garnish with walnuts.
• Bake for 30-35 min or until wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• For Cupcakes : Line 2 1/2 inch muffin cups with paper bake cups. Fill 2/3 full with batter. Bake at 350F for 22-25 min.

Baked Nadan Fish Fry / Baked Salmon with Indian Spices

Here comes the next recipe. I am highly motivated today after receiving incredible feedback from my dear friends about the blog.Thanks to all of you for keeping my spirits high. You don't know how much I value your comments and feedback.
This recipe was shared by my sister while she was on a dieting spree looking for oil-free recipes.
Fish fry is a very frequent dish in most of our families but the 'olfactory' menace after frying the fish along with the oil splashes/stove and frying utensil cleaning can all be rid with this recipe. Most importantly, this recipe is oil-free. Cook healthy and Eat healthy, right?
I have been making this dish at least once a week for the past 4-5 years. Once I started making fish fry this way, I have never gone back to oil-frying the fish. The best fish for this recipe are Salmon and Steelhead Trout which tastes and looks almost the same like Salmon. The rule of thumb is to use a fatty fish that will render its fat onto the crust while it bakes. 

Ingredients
3/4 lb - Salmon or Steelhead Trout
1 1/2 Tsp -Red chilly powder
1Tbsp - Fresh Lime Juice or White Vinegar
1/2 Tsp - Salt
1/4 Tsp - Pepper
1/4 Tsp - Turmeric powder
1/4 Tsp - Garlic powder or Fresh Garlic paste
Cooking oil spray

Directions

• Mix the red chilly powder, fresh lime juice, salt, pepper,turmeric powder and garlic powder together. 
• Wash the fish pieces and dry them with a paper towel. 
• Apply the masala (spice rub) mixture onto the fish. 
• Line a baking tray with aluminium foil and spray oil
• Place the fish on the foil and bake it for 30-35 mins at 425F. If you want a nice crispy crust, broil it during the last 5 mins. Make sure you keep an eye on the fish while you broil it because it can easily burn the fish.

Notes and Tips

• I usually make this in my toaster oven. Each oven or toaster has different capacity so please watch the fish while baking to make sure that it doesn't get burnt.

Mutton Curry - Indian Style

This recipe is very dear to me.  Firstly because this is the first recipe in which I am going to post a picture and secondly because a good Mutton curry with Kerala Paratha is my husband's favorite food. He can live just on this. This recipe has an interesting ingredient - 'Pickle' which makes this special and will enlighten your taste buds. This secret ingredient was passed onto my husband by a 5-star chef. From then on all my husbands mutton curry will have pickle/ achar in it.
Make sure you buy goat meat for this recipe rather than lamb. The fat from the mutton and bone marrow make this dish really YUM!!
The tadka for this dish was inspired from my mother-in-law who is an expert in making Mutton dishes.
We buy mutton very rarely just to try to eat healthy and cut down on the red meat. So I don't make mutton very often. Another thing is that I am never satisfied with my mutton curry maybe because I have my mom-in-laws mutton curry as a benchmark. But this recipe that I made was pleasing to me. Hope you will enjoy it too...

Marination
2 lb - Mutton (Goat meat)
2 tsp - Paprika (you can use kasmiri chilly powder if you don't have this)
1 tsp - Black Pepper
1/4 tsp - Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp - Salt
2 tbsp - Yogurt

Grind
1 1/2 inch - Ginger
8-10 - Garlic cloves
1/2 - Yellow Onion

Masala
2 tsp - Red chilly powder
3 tbsp - Coriander powder
1/2 tsp - Jeera powder
1/4 tsp - Saunf powder
1/2 tsp - Amchur (Dry mango powder)
1/2 tsp - Garam Masala
1/2 tsp - Dried Mint powder
1 - Red Onion Big (approx 1 1/2 cup)
3 - Tomato (approx 1 1/2 cup)
3 tsp - Pickle / Achar (I used Mango Ginger pickle)

Tadka
1/2 - Yellow Onion(Thinly sliced)
Pinch of asafetida
Pinch of Roasted Fenugreek Powder
Curry leaves

Directions

• Marinate the mutton with Paprika, Black Pepper, Turmeric powder, Salt and Yogurt. Keep it aside for 30 mins. 
• Transfer the mutton into a pressure cooker and cook it on medium until 3 whistles and then cook for another 20-25 mins on medium low heat. Check if the meat is tender, if not cook for some more time.
• Grind together ginger, garlic and onion. 
• Heat oil in a kadai and add this mixture. Cook it until the ginger-garlic-onion mixture is brown in color. Keep mixing this else it will burn. 
• Now add the chopped red onions. Cook them until golden brown. 
• Mix Red chilly powder, Coriander powder, Jeera powder, Saunf powder, Amchur, Garam Masala, Dried Mint powder with some water just enough to make it a paste and add it to the kadai. Fry this masala well at least for 5 mins. 
• Now add the tomatoes and mix well. Cook until the tomatoes softens up and blend with everything else(10-15mins). 
• Now add the mutton and pickle and cook until the gravy is thick.
• For tadka, fry add the thinly sliced onions in oil. Once the onions are translucent, add curry leaves. Fry the onions until they are golden brown. Just before taking it off the heat add the asafetida and fenugreek powder. Garnish the mutton curry with the tadka.
• Serve the curry with rice or chappati or paratha. Enjoy !!!

Bread Fritters / Bread Pakora

My daughter is a choosy eater but this recipe is an easy hit with her. Just smack some ketchup on it and you will hear a YES to your 'Are you hungry?' question. Growing up, I also used to devour these when my mom used to make them for me.With just 4 simple ingredients this recipe is super simple and easy yet absolutely delish. This can also be served as a quick appetizer.
To make this in large quantity you can add a little water to the beaten eggs before dipping the bread into them and proportionately increase all the ingredients.

Ingredients                                                                                                      
1 slice White Bread
1 Egg
Dash of pepper
Pinch of salt

Directions

• Beat the eggs well and season it with salt and pepper. 
• Cut the slice of bread into 6 bite size pieces. 
• Soak the bread pieces in the egg mixture. Make sure all of this mixture gets absorbed into the bread. In a pan heat some oil for frying. 
• Heat oil in a frying pan. Once the oil is hot, drop the bread pieces one by one and fry until they are golden brown. Serve them with ketchup or a favorite sauce

No Bake Mango Souffle

My mom is a Souffle expert. Her Souffle always turns out to be soft, fluffy, spongy and delicious.Well of course, mom's are always experts!! Here is her decadent mango souffle recipe that you will tend to make again and again. I love mango's and so does my daughter and husband hence this is one of the frequently made recipes at my place. Another thing I like about this recipe is that it is light and doesn't need heavy cream. This is also good for entertaining as it looks really stunning if served in martini glasses and garnished with fresh mangoes

Ingredients
8 - Eggs (Yolk and white separated)
2/3 Cup - Sugar (add more if desired)
3 Cup - Milk
3 Tbsp - Gelatin (Dissolve in 1/2 C water)
3 Tbsp - Custard Powder (Dissolve in 1/2 C Milk)
1.5 Cup - Sweetened Mango Pulp
1 - Mango, chopped
Whipped cream (optional)
Mint leaves (optional)

Directions

• Mix the yolk of 8 eggs, 3 cups milk, sugar in a pan and cook.
• When this mixture boils, turn the fire to low add the dissolved custard powder mix and keep stirring to avoid lumps.
• Bring the heat back to medium and cook for another 5 minutes.
• Remove from fire and add the dissolved gelatin.
• Add the mango pulp.
• Run the mixture through a sieve to avoid lumps and let it cool
• In a separate bowl beat the egg whites until it really frothy and you get stiff peaks when you lift the whisk.
• Carefully fold in the egg whites into the mango custard mixture
• Pour the mixture into a 8*8 square glass pan or into individual dessert bowl or martini glasses. 
• Place this in the fridge and let it set for at least 5-6 hrs.
• Optional: Garnish with some more chopped mangoes, whipped cream or mint leaves

Goat Cheese Ice Cream With Rum Figs

I had fallen in love with Jenis ever since the first time I tried it. They take gourmet ice cream to an entirely new level. So many different unique mouth watering flavors that play wonders with your palate. I tried their Goat cheese ice cream with cognac dipped figs at home with my Cuisinart Ice cream maker and it was a success. Here is the recipe.

Mostly adapted from Jenis

Makes a generous 1 quart
Ingredients
2 cups whole milk, divided use
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
½ cup (about 4 ounces) fresh goat cheese
1½ ounces (3 tablespoons) cream cheese, softened
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
1¼ cups heavy cream
⅔ cup sugar
¼ cup light corn syrup
For Rum Figs
6oz Dried Figs
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
1/2 C Water
1 2 Tbsp - Rum


Ice cream maker : An ice cream freezer that uses a refreezable 1½-quart canister is recommended.
Preliminaries: Freeze the ice cream maker's canister for 24 hours before preparing recipe.


Directions:

Rum Figs :

• Chop the figs and mix the water, brown sugar and rum together and cook the mixture for 15 mins. Allow it to cool.

 Ice Cream

• Mix about 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry. Set aside.
• Whisk the goat cheese, cream cheese and salt in a medium bowl until smooth. Set aside.
• Fill a large bowl with ice and water. Set aside.
• Cook the base: Combine the remaining milk, cream, sugar and corn syrup in a 4-quart saucepan, bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat, and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry. Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a rubber spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat.
• Chill: Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese mixture until smooth. Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon zipper freezer bag, seal and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath. Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until cold, about 30 minutes.
• Freeze: Pour the ice cream base into the frozen canister and spin until thick and creamy.
• Pack the ice cream into a storage container, alternating it with layers of the figs. Do not mix. 

Easy Pancake

Pancake is a very frequent weekend breakfast at our house. I always used to have store bought pancake mix so never bothered to make it from scratch until one day when I read the ingredient label. From that day I stopped buying pancake mix and started making it at home. Its so easy you will also start doing it once you see this recipe.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• cooking spray

Directions

1. Combine milk with vinegar in a medium bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to "sour".
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk egg and butter into "soured" milk. Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and whisk until lumps are gone.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and coat with cooking spray. Pour 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto the skillet, and cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip with a spatula, and cook until browned on the other side.