KARACHI HALWA

 KARACHI HALWA

As the name suggests, its origin points to the city of Karachi in Pakistan. ... Karachi Halwa or Bombay Halwa, this sweetmeat easily stands out for its bright colour, usually a vibrant orange, mimicking the hue that is obtained from saffron strands. Soft and melt in the mouth is karachi halwa which is also known as Bombay halwa. Karachi halwa is made with basically four ingredients – corn flour, ghee, water and sugar. I had got some recipe requests to share karachi halwa, hence sharing the recipe. Making karachi halwa is easy and does not take much time also.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Corn Flour

1+1/2 cups Sugar

2+/12 cups Water

6 tbsp Ghee

1/4 cup Broken Cashews

2 tbsp melon seeds

2 tbsp chopped pistachios 

1/4 tsp Green Cardamom Powder (or crushed cardamom)

2 Pinches of Red Orange Food Color

Recipe:

1. In a nonstick pan, bring Sugar and 1 cup of Water together to boil.
2. Meanwhile, make a slurry of the corn flour and 1.5 cups of Water along with the food color, mix well without any lumps.
3. As the sugar is completely dissolved, keep stirring on medium heat until it begins to boil and get sticky. The sugar syrup need not get to 1-string consistency.
4. Simmer the gas stove and pour the corn flour slurry and mix well before there are any lumps.
5. On medium flame, continue cooking the mixture and slowly the corn flour begins to set. Notice the change of color at few places.
6. Continue cooking the mixture on medium flame, stirring constantly. It becomes transparent.
7. As the mixture begins to thicken, add cardamom powder and cashews, melon seeds and pistachios. Mix well.
8. Keep stirring the mixture as it begins to thicken further.
9. Add 2 tbsp ghee to this and keep stirring the halwa to incorporate the ghee and cook the halwa. Repeat this step 2 more times till total 6 tbsp ghee has been added to the mixture.
10. It thickens completely and doesn’t easily drop from the ladle, also leaving from the sides of the pan. At this stage, drop a small portion of mixture onto a plate. If it sets in next couple of minutes, the halwa is done.
11. Prepare a plate or a square bowl greased with some ghee.
12. Quickly pour over the halwa onto the plate and even out the top as much as possible. Let it set for about an hour at room temperature.
13. Gently cut the halwa using a knife and remove the pieces.
14. Stays fresh in the fridge for upto 4 days in an airtight container.

Serve warm or cold. 

Enjoy and keep showering your love.

COCONUT BARFI

 COCONUT BARFI

Usually at home, for Raksha Bandhan we always make Kheer. This time for a change I made the coconut burfi today and also clicked the pics. These were easy to prepare. Coconut barfi is a delicious south Indian Sweet recipe made with coconut, sugar, milk and cardamom powder. It is one of the most commonly made sweet during festivals & celebrations in South India.

Ingredients:

3 cups grated coconut (fresh or frozen)

1+1/2 cups sugar

1 cup milk powder 

1/2 tsp freshly ground cardamom

2 tbsp of ghee

Finely chopped pistachios for garnishing optional

Recipe:

1. Heat the ghee in a thick bottomed non stick pan. Allow it to melt completely and add milk.
2. Warm the milk for 1-2 minutes and add sugar. Mix it well and stir to dissolve completely.
3. Now add milk powder to the milk and keep it stirring continuously on a very low heat till it starts to thicken.
4. Add desiccated coconut and mix it in the mixture and cook it till whole mix starts to come together and form a thick mass.
5. Now grease a plate/dish with ghee and spread the hot coconut burfi mixture with a spatula while flattening it on the surface.
6. Garnish with chopped pistachios and place it to set in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Cut the milk powder coconut burfi into desired shapes and enjoy.

Enjoy and keep showering your love.

DAHI KEBAB

 DAHI KEBAB

Dahi ke kabab are crisp, soft and tasty kababs made with dahi or curd. You can even make dahi kababs with greek yogurt. This is a restaurant style snack. Dahi kababs are also known as dahi ke kabab. They are quite a common kind of vegetarian kebabs eaten in Northern India. These are made of hung curd, paneer, flour and basic spice powders.

Ingredients:

4 cups Curd 

10 gm Paneer

50 gm Processed cheese

1 Onion (chopped)

1-2 Green chillies

1 inch Ginger (chopped)

1 tbsp Onions (fried and chopped)

1 tbsp Besan

1 tsp Garam masala

1 tspCardamom powder

1 tbsp Jeera powder

1/2 tsp Black salt

Black pepper a pinch

1 tbsp Fresh mint (chopped)

1 tbsp Fresh coriander (chopped)

Bread crumbs for coating

Oil for frying 

Recipe:

1. In a muslin cloth put the curd and tie it properly, lightly squeeze it to remove excess whey and hang it for at least 2 hours, or overnight if possible.
2. In a mixing bowl add the hung curd, grate the paneer and cheese and add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
3. Take a spoonful of mixture and with light hands shape into small tikki.
4. Coat the tikki well with the breadcrumbs and refrigerate for 10 minutes before frying.
5. Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan or wok, deep fry the kebabs (tikki) on high flame until crisp and golden brown.
6. Serve hot and crispy with mint chutney, ketchup or any sauce of your preference.

Enjoy and keep showering your love.

OATS COOKIES

 OAT COOKIES

These 2 ingredient banana oatmeal cookies are delicious breakfast cookies. They don’t contain any flour or refined sugar, but they still taste like soft, sweet cookies. Bananas and quick oats are all you need for the cookies. If you want some variation, you can add chocolate chips, nuts, or dried fruit. I came across 2 ingredient banana cookies recently, though they’ve been popular on the internet for a few years.

Ingredients:

1 cup quick oats

1 large overripe banana (mashed to a liquid-like consistency)

1/2 cup chocolate chips or other add-ins of your choice (optional)

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. In a large bowl, add oats and mashed bananas. Mix with a fork until it becomes an evenly mixed, thick batter. If you plan on using add-ins like chocolate chips, mix them into the cookie batter at this time.
3. Make 8 round balls out of the cookie batter.
4. Place onto baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches apart. Gently press down on each ball so that it flattens into a round disc.
5. Cookies will not spread much during baking, so keep that in mind when shaping and flattening your discs.
6. Bake for about 15 minutes or until cookies are lightly brown and set.

Let cookies cool before eating. Store uneaten cookies in the fridge.

Enjoy and keep showering your love.

EGGLESS RAINBOW COOKIES

 EGGLESS RAINBOW COOKIES

These cookies are a lot special to me and a bit different from my regular cookies. This is all about my support to the LGBTQ community, to the love and acceptance.

This month is about teaching acceptance and educating pride history, and above all, love. Several campaigns and drives are held to educate people about how damaging homophobia can be. The LGBTQ+ community has fought a long battle for their right to live a dignified life. Therefore, every year in June, the world celebrates Pride month in honor of community members who have been through various obstacles in life and have come a long way. It also showcases how far gay rights have come, and what all is yet to achieve. Global Pride Day every year is celebrated on June 28. Colorful parades, concerts, and marches are held across the world to celebrate this day. But since the country is still fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, the celebration might take place virtually. 

LGBTQ community and other allies have been fighting to get equal right to start families, to get married, adopt children, fight discrimination, hate speech, and the right to simply exist as they are.

Ingredients:

1+1/2 cups Butter

3 cups All purpose flour

1+1/2 cups Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla extract

Salt a pinch

Food colours (violet, blue, green, yellow, orange and red)

Recipe:

1. Cream butter, vanilla extract together. Add Sugar, Salt and beat till it is soft.
2. Add All purpose flour and bring it together to make soft dough. Divide it into 2 parts. Keep 1 as it is and divide another into 6 equal balls.
3. Add colors to each part and mix well. 
4. Roll each color separately and stack it on each other in the order of Violet, blue, green, yellow, indigo and red.
5. Cut it horizontally 4 times and take a heart mould and cut hearts from it. Repeat with other 3 parts. You’ll get around 20-22 hearts.
6. Roll another dough which was plain. Cut out circles from it and a heart from within the circle.
7. Now place the rainbow hearts in between the circle.
8. Cover it and keep it in fridge for 30 mins.
9. Arrange it in baking tray. Pre heat the oven at 180 degree and bake cookies at 180 degree for 12 mins. Let it cool down completely.

Store it in air tight container.

Enjoy and keep showering your love.

MANCHURIAN DRY

 MANCHURIAN

This recipe of vegetable manchurian yields crispy and delicious veg balls in manchurian sauce. A popular and tasty indo chinese gravy based appetiser recipe made with deep-fried vegetable balls. Basically a vegetarian alternative to the popular meat manchurian or chicken manchurian variant for the non-meat-eaters. It is generally made and served as a side dish to the fried rice or noodles recipe, but can also be served as party starter or appetiser. Now a days chinese has become one of the popular lunch or dinner variants for many indians. One such simple and easy side dish recipe is veg manchurian gravy recipe known for its multipurpose usability.

For the manchurian balls:

1/2 head cabbage

2 medium carrots

1 medium onion

1 medium green bell pepper

2 tbsp Ginger garlic paste

2 green chili peppers (Finely minced)

Salt to taste

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup corn starch

Vegetable oil (for frying)

For the manchurian sauce:

1 tbsp vegetable oil

12 cloves garlic (finely chopped)

2 green chili peppers (minced)

1 small green bell pepper (cut into large cubes)

1 small onion (cut into large, ¾th inch cubes and petals separated)

2 tbsp tomato ketchup

1-2 tbsp hot chili sauce (use more or less based on your preference)

2-4 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp vinegar

1/2 tsp powdered ginger

Salt to taste

4 tbsp corn starch 

2 scallions (finely chopped)

Recipe:

Make the manchurian balls:

1. Heat oil for frying in a wok or fryer.
2. Grate all of the veggies, including the onion, or chop them very finely.
3. Place the veggies and the rest of the ingredients in the bowl and mix until a ball formed with the veggies holds together. You don't want the balls to be doughy, but if absolutely necessary, add a little more flour if needed to bind.
4. Shape the mixture into small balls and flatten each slightly before adding to the hot oil. You can fry several at a time but don't overcrowd the pan.
5. Turn the manchurian balls golden-brown on both sides. Remove them to a dish lined with paper towels and set aside.
   

Make the manchurian sauce:

1. To make the sauce, place the wok on high heat and when it is very hot, pour the oil in along the sides of the pan.
2. Add the garlic and stir-fry for just 10 seconds or so, then immediately add in the bell peppers and onion. Saute just a minute, then add the sauces one by one in the center of the wok--the ketchup, soya sauce, chili sauce and vinegar. Mix together quickly and then add 2 cups of water to the wok. Bring to a boil and taste the sauce. If needed, add salt.
3. Mix the cornstarch with 4 tbsp water and add a little at a time until the sauce thickens. Cook the sauce until it comes to a boil and becomes glossy, 2-4 minutes. Add the manchurian balls. Turn off heat and season with scallions before serving.
   

Serve with fried rice.

Enjoy and keep showering your love.

CIGAR ROLLS

 CIGAR ROLLS

These Paneer Cigar Rolls have a light texture with a slight crunch on the outside. On the inside, it’s filled with deliciousness. What’s so special about our Veg Cigar Roll? The dish is elegant with the gooey cheese as the wow factor. These crispy rolls are filled with cheese, to make the filling wholesome. Tasty and savoury, this recipe has a crispy outer layer and is soft and spicy on the inside making it a guaranteed crowd pleaser.

Ingredients:

4 tbsp Cottage cheese

4 tbsp Processed cheese

4 spring roll sheets

2-3 green chillies finely chopped

1/2 tsp crushed red chillies

Salt to taste 

3-4 fresh curly parsley

2 tbsp cornstarch

1/2 cup refined flour (maida)

Oil to deep fry 

Recipe:

1. Heat sufficient oil in a kadai. Put cottage cheese in a bowl, add processed cheese, green chillies, crushed red chillies, salt, parsley, cornstarch and mix well with your hands, pressing as you mix.
2. Divide into 4 equal portions and shape into long croquettes.
3. Mix refined flour with sufficient water to make a thick paste. Apply this on the spring roll sheets with a brush.
4. Place a cheese croquette at one end and roll tightly into a long cylinder and seal the open edge ensuring that you leave about ½ inch empty space at the two ends.
5. Slide into hot oil and deep-fry till golden and crisp. Drain on absorbent paper.
6. Halve and serve hot.

Enjoy and keep showering your love.