Garlic Pepper Mushroom

Here is a super simple recipe for evening snacks...as long as you have fresh mushrooms in your refrigerator...i always keep them handy because i love mushrooms....it's  a great side dish for steaks too....the story behind me creating this dish is...when i was working in Noida, India i use to go to Pizza hut, there they use to serve this dish, really yummy...but i couldn't get the same taste anywhere else in India....after coming to USA i came to know that this dish is only available in India...so i created this one.....though i still miss the actual taste....

Ingredients:-

2tbs of extra virgin Olive Oil

25o grams of Mushroom

10 nos of green chillies ( Slit)

5 large cloves of garlic ( Chopped)

1tbs of coarsely ground black pepper powder

1/2 cup of  fresh parsley ( Chopped)

Salt as per taste

Method:-

Wash the mushrooms & pat it dry with paper towel.

Do not soak mushrooms in water as they tend to absorb water & that will increases it's cooking time.

Heat oil in the heavy bottom pan, add the chopped garlic & gr. chillies & fry for a min(taking care not to burn it).

Add mushrooms & saute till all of the water evaporates  & they are tender.

Add rest of the ingredients & cook for 5min .

Voila.....!!! mushroom is ready....enjoy:)

Cold, Flu & Cough,

                                                                   "Sorry for the bad pic "

Because of  the drastic weather change  everyone is falling sick ....so i thought this will be a perfect recipe ........I came across this home remedy when i was working in Delhi, was down with flu so my house owners wife made this for me & i was perfectly fine the next day... thanks to her she introduced me to this miracle mixture that's what i call it, & it has never let me down since then..............this mixture is called as "Kadha"in Hindi & Sanskrit...means concentrated liquid preperation of herbs in water or other medium(decocotion),there are different types of kadha for each & every problem of the body but i know only few, lot of other ingredients are added as per requirement or personal choice.........the decoction can be taken as it is or with tea, milk or honey for masking the bitter taste..... 

Whenever somebody is down with cold, flu or cough in my household, i make this decoction.I have actually become very famous in my in laws house as whenever someone is down with any one of the above they will say make "Anu's Kadha" & when they tell me that, i feel on top of the world............won't you if you were me ....:)

This is a very effective mixture, it  gives relive from wet as well as dry cough, cold & flu, this is a sure shot remedy for all of the above.........i hope this works out for all of you too.......be healthy people & take care of yourself..........:) 

Ingredients:-

2 Bay Leaves

5 Green Cardamom

10 Cloves

10 Black Pepper

1 inch piece of Cinnamon

1 inch piece of Ginger

1tbsp Sugar/Honey

10-15 leaves of Tulsi Leaves(Basil Leaves)

1tbsp of Tea Leaves (Optional)

Milk as per taste(Optional)

Method:-

Take all the above ingredients in small tea pan  except tea leaves & add 5 cups of water.

If adding honey instead of sugar don't add it at the start, add when the mix is reduced to 1/4th qty.

When the liquid starts boiling reduce the heat to low.

Boil the mix till the quantity is reduced to 1/4th .

Now add tea leaves & let it boil at low temp for 5min.

Now strain the decoction  in a cup .(mix warm milk  to it, if you cannot have it as it is).

After straining the decoction, the mixture  remaining  in the pan can be used 3 times for making  kadha if tea leaves are not added.

You can keep the decoction for a day or two without adding tea or milk.

Serve hot otherwise it will be not be very effective.

Velvety Mashed Potatoes,

This is a classic example of comfort food which is served as side dish in many countries along with breakfast, lunch, supper & dinner .There are many different ways of preparing mashed potatoes...it is made by mashing boiled potatoes(peeled or unpeeled) with potato masher, fork or grater....it depends upon type of mashed potatoes  you want to make, different things can be added  like bacon bits, garlic, mushroom, caramelized onions, butter, veg oil or Olive oil, cream, milk, cheese, buttermilk, sour cream etc....... it is then seasoned with  salt, pepper & /or dash of nutmeg sometimes spices or chopped herbs are added for  extra flavor. Gravy is added sometimes before serving( dark brown gravy or light brown gravy) ...I've have had mostly 6 to 7 varieties of  mashed potatoes &  have created my own version as per my taste... i simply cannot think of having steak without mashed potatoes....no no not me....i just need an excuse to make mashed potatoes...it is one of our family favourites....very simple to make.This recipe is not for low cal diet people.......i don't believe in low cal diets...i believe  in enjoying the food as per your liking & working out extra next day...that's me....as i always say everything in moderation is good for health.............enjoy:)

Ingredients:-

5 Potatoes

4 tbs of butter

1 Cup Heavy Cream

dash of pepper

Salt as per taste

Method:-

1. Peel the potatoes & cut them in small square inch pieces or halves & boil them till fully cooked.
   
2. Drain the water from the potatoes & mash it or pass it through strainer.
   
3. Meanwhile heat heavy bottom pan , melt half of the butter( don't let it burn) & reduce the heat to low, now add the mashed potatoes .
   
4. Warm the heavy cream in microwave for a min or so.(the main reason is that cream should be warm otherwise the mashed potatoes will be sticky rather than fluffy which is the standard desired texture).
   
5. Now add  cream and rest of the butter in the mashed potato & stir in between.
   
6. Add salt & pepper as per your taste.
   
7. Cook till you see a layer of butter on the sides, serve it with your favourite dish.
   

Suggestions:-

1. You can add milk instead of heavy whipped cream.( but make sure the milk is warm before adding, otherwise cold milk tends to make the starch in the potato sticky).
   
2. Use vegetable broth or chicken broth instead of  milk or cream to reduce calories.
   
3. Make it 10 min before serving the meal.
   
4. You can serve it with garlic mushrooms, garlic bread, steaks or simple toast.
   
5. You can mash the potatoes with masher directly in the pan after draining water & step 3.
6. Keep the heat at low throughout the cooking time.

Vegetable Skin Pakoda's

When i tell my friends about our style of cooking i.e. Bengali style, we hardly throw any part of vegetables  except few unless absolutely necessary, they laugh at me saying that you guys do not need dustbins......... anyways this particular dish is a very good solution when you have weekend parties you have to prepare lot of dishes & sometimes you even have to think about people who are pure vegetarians...you need to serve veg as well as non veg appetizers, so while you are cooking the main course you can prepare this dish  & serve as veg appetizer.Whichever vegetable curry or salad you are making you can save the skin's i.e Potato, Cucumber, carrot, pumpkin, Lauki( Bottle Gourd), Torai(Ridge Gourd), etc the list is endless to make this dish.......so you can save some time for other items. This dish is always a hit in my weekend parties. Sometimes i save the skin's of all the vegetables over the week & make the pakoda's during the weekend as it compliments Sambar or any masala or plain dal very well or you can have them with tea........

Ingredients:-

• 1 cup of (mix Veg) vegetable Skin
  
• 5 tbs of Gram Flour
  
• 2 tbs of Rice flour
  
• 1tsp of Turmeric Powder
  
• 1tsp of Chilly powder (add more for extra spicy)
  
• 1tsp of Poppy seeds
  
• 1tsp of Carom seeds(Ajwain)( Optional)
  
• 1tsp of Sesame seeds
  
• 1 tbs of Oil
  
• Salt to taste
  

Method:-

1. Mix all the  above ingredients except for the veg skin's in a bowl with water to get a thick pourable batter .
   
2. Now add the veg skin's to it.
   
3. Let the batter stand for 15 to 20 min.
   
4. Heat oil in a heavy bottom wok, as soon as smoke starts coming out of  the oil  put the skin's  & fry till  it turns golden brown.
   
5. Put them on paper towel to soak all the extra oil & serve hot with ketchup or any chutney.
   

Suggestion:-

1. If you do not have rice flour you can substitute with sooji or grits.
   
2. If you are saving the veg skin's for the weekend put few drops of lemon juice  to prevent them from becoming black.
   
3. Store in air tight container or in cling wrap immediately.( take a small sheet of cling wrap, now put the veg skin's in the middle,, roll the sheet & twist both the ends tightly, will stay fresh for a week or so).

Gola Kebab

I am a big fan of kebabs, when i was working in Delhi i use to live on kebabs & pani puri...........this continued for about three years till i got married.......after coming to USA i started experimenting by making differnet types of kebabs, as i always use to ask the kebabwala's for the recipes, & fortunately they use to tell me. i like making varieties of kebabs, this is an authentic Pakistani dish, there are different ways of making it........i actually cooked it in a different way .........though i have mentioned the alternate way of cooking this dish...the method by which i have made is easier for me.......so you can use any method, whichever is convenient to you..the kebabs turned out really well, my hubby liked it very much......it was really yummy.........i hope you all will like the recipe..

Ingredients

• 5oo gms of Minced Mutton/ Lamb/Chicken/Pork
  
• 1 large Onion

10 to 15 Whole Red Chillies
¼ cup Bhuna Chana(Dalia)
1 tbsp. Papaya (Papita)
1 tbsp. Coconut (Khopra)
1 tbsp. Poppy Seeds
1 tbsp. Fennel (Sounf)
1 tbsp. Coriander Seeds (Dhania)
1 tsp. Allspice
1 tsp. Salt
¼ cup Curd
1 tsp. Ginger Paste
1 tsp. Garlic Paste
A few strands of fresh Coriander/Cilantro Leaves
5 slit Green Chilli




Method:-

1. Roast all spices and grind finely with bhuna chana.
   
2. Marinate minced meat with papaya, salt, ginger paste, garlic paste and all the roasted and ground masala.
3. Mix well and set in fridge for one to two hours.
4. Mix in curd. Make round balls .
5. Heat oil in a deep frying pan and fry kebab balls till it becomes brown.



6. Pre heat oven at 450°C for 15min, spray baking tray with oil & bake the balls for 10min
7.Garnish with green chillies, coriander leaves and serve with mint chutney.



Suggestions:-
1.If you are using minced chicken, then no need to put it in the oven after frying since chicken takes less time to cook than the othe meats.
2.Reduce the the quatity of whole red chillies if you like it less spicy.
3.If the kheema balls tends to break, lightly whip one egg in a bowl & put the kheema balls in that before frying.
4.Alternative cooking is to fry the balls in 1tbs of oil & add 1 cup of water cook it till well done & the water is absorbed.

Methi Chicken

This weekend when i went for usual grocery shopping i bought methi(fenugreek Leaves) after a long gap & from that day i was thinking of making some gourmet dish...........so i thought why not methi chicken.I have made this dish before but i always try new recipes for the same dish, i like doing experiments & this recipes is inspired by authentic Peshawari or you can say Pakistani cuisine......i just love there style of cooking, so i had to try this one.....though i didn't make it exactly the way it is suppose to be "somehow i cannot bring myself to copy any recipe", in the process i created my own recipe...my family loved it & i hope you will too....... 

Ingredients:-

1/2 kg Chicken

For the marinade:-

1tsp ginger garlic paste

2tsp curd

1tsp of chili powder

1tsp of cumin powder

Salt to taste

For the gravy:-

5 cardamoms

2 cinnamon sticks

5 slit green chillies

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1 onion chopped

1 tomato chopped

2 cups of chopped fenugreek leaves

1/2 cup of Cream

1/4 cup of chopped coriander leaves.

Method:-

•  Mix all the ingredients and marinate the chicken for 30 minutes
  
•  Heat oil in a pan & shallow fry the chicken till it becomes golden brown.
  

• Keep the rest of the marinade.
  
• Transfer the remaining oil from pan to wok.
  
• Add cardamom, cinnamon & cumin seeds let it splutter.
  
• Add the chopped onions & green chillies & fry till it becomes brown.
  
• Add the remaining marinade & chopped fenugreek leaves fry for about 5 min.
  
• Add chopped tomatoes & fry till the fat separates.
  
• Reduce the heat to low add the chicken pieces & cook for about 5 to 7 min.
  
• Add 1/2 cup of cream & simmer for 2 min.
  
• Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves.
  

Suggestion:-

• If you are not serving the dish immediately, add little milk before serving as the dish tends to become very dry.
  
• You can grill the chicken instead of frying to reduce the oil intake.
  
• You can use Kasuri methi instead of fresh methi leaves, but add half the qty since dried herbs have strong flavor.
  

Quick Mango Mousse

Choosing a dessert to make is  a very tough  part of my life, though being Bengali's we don't like sweets much...........and sometimes it even becomes difficult to finish  irrespective of how tasty it may be. That is why i always make desserts which are super simple.......doesn't take much time & can be made in small portions..........and also can be stored for couple of weeks...............Last Friday i wanted to surprise my hubby, so i decided to make mango mousse................ no no no don't get worried this recipe is not like the others which calls for lot of ingredients & is tedious n difficult to make, rather this dessert is very easy  & hardly takes any time, the best part about this is, that.. it is egg less & less messy.  The original recipes requires pomegranate but i had starwberries & banana so i used then instead  & i soaked them in 1/2 part pomegranate juice (1tbs)& 1/2 part(1tbs) Brandy ( This is not mentioned in the original recipe i added to get more flavour).The mousse turned out to be delicious & my husband just loved it & thankfully i could finish the whole mousse in 2 days............wowwwwwww what a relief.

Ingredients:-

• Mango Puree                                 1 cup
  
• Heavy whipped cream                 1 cup
  
• Sugar                                              2tbs 
  
• few strands of kesar ( Soaked in warm milk)
  

Decoration( Fruit Salad):-

• Pomegranate seeds                       2tbs
• Raisins                                             2tbs( Soaked in Brandy or Rum overnight)
  
• Coarsely chopped Pistachio         1tbs                

Method:-

1. Whip the cream in the blender along with sugar till it becomes semi hard
   
2. Add  soaked kesar in the mango puree.
   
3. Fold the above two mixtures together gently let it rest for 2mins & mousse is ready.
   
4. Mix pomegranate seed, raisins & pistachio.
   
5. Put the mango mousse in serving bowl & top it with the fruit salad.
   

Suggestion:-

1. Add any fruit you like or whichever is easily available( Strawberry/Apple & Banana ).
   
2. Add more sugar if you like more sweet but do taste it before adding.
   
3. Use powdered sugar, as it is easy to mix.
   
4. If you don't want to use alcohol, soak raisin in any juice.
   
5. Just to give it a classy look serve the mousse in  soup spoons.
   

Lotus Root Gravy

Kamal Kakadi ki Rasedar Sabji

Once i had been to my freinds house for dinner, she being from Meerut, India had a very good idea of cooking the Lotus Root.She had made a mix vegetable curry in which she had added this ingredient & my husband became die hard fan of this sabji especially he loved the taste of Kamal kakdi. And i had to try it so i started making it on a regular basis.

About Lotus Root

Lotus roots or kamal kakri are eaten all over Asia. In north India, they are cooked either in a curry form or like a dry form.In some parts cooks, stuff lotus root canals with meat or spices and then cook them whole, in an oven. You can also add them in other vegetable curries or Nonveg curries. If buying fresh, select the ones with both ends unbroken, as the broken ones often have a lot of mud and rubbish inside. Tinned ones are also very good, but the flavour is not the as good as that of fresh ones. I generally buy the fozen ones from Indian store, as per the manufacturer these are freshly cut and frozen. I don't how far it is true but it has similar taste as that of fresh ones we get in India. So after searching through lots of websites for different ways of making this sabji, i invented my own recipe one day & my hubby loved it, the recipe is as follows,

Ingredients

•	340 gm. frozen lotus roots(i.e. 1 packet)
•	2 medium peeled and cut into 4-6 pieces each
•	1 large onion roughly chopped
•	1/2 inch piece of ginger, peeled
•	2-3 cloves of garlic, peeled (optional)
•	2 medium tomatoes, chopped finely or 200gm. tinned tomatoes.
•	1 tbs. cooking oil
•	1 tsp. cumin seeds
•	1 tbp of Ginger Garlic paste
•	1 pinch Asafoetida 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
•	1/4 tsp. chilli powder or more if you prefer spicy
•	1 tsp. of coriander powder
•	Salt to taste
•	1/2 tsp of Punjabi garam masala or Chole masala
•	1 tbs. chopped coriander leaves for garnish

Instructions

1.	If you are using fresh ones then w ash and scrap the skin & Slice into 1/2 to 1 cm thick rings
2.	Steam or boil them for 5-6 minutes in a microwave & then drain if you are very health concious, otherwise i generally fry them as it takes lot of time to cook.( If frying then drain the oil by putting them on a paper towel). Sometimes to fasten the cooking process i also fry or boil the potatoes which ever is convinent.
3.	Grind together onions, ginger and garlic in a food processor or chop/grate very finely by hand .
4.	In the same pan in which you have fried the roots, add cumin seeds and a pinch of asafoetida powder and let the seeds splutter.
5.	Add onion, ginger and garlic paste and fry until golden to dark brown (not burnt).
6.	Add chilli powder fry for a min ( as it gives nice red color to the curry) & then add all the other spices, except garam masala and stir for 10 seconds, to release flavours. Do not burn.
7.	Add tomatoes and stir fry, until oil separates at the edges.
8.	Add prepared lotus roots and potatoes, stir fry for a minute. Add 1 cup of water, more if you like thinner gravy.
9.	Boil briskly for a couple of minutes and then simmer for 10 minutes or until roots are tender.
10.	Stir in garam masala.
11.	Adjust salt and chillies to your own taste.
12.	Turn heat off and add fresh coriander leaves. Few Suggestion:- Serving with plain roti is fine but the curry tastes better with paratha or puri. If you don't like very spicy curry you can add 1 tsp. of sweet paprika powder instead of red chilli powder or reducing the qty of it to get red color. You can also add little milk or yogurt to give richer look to the curry.

Molten Lava

I was introduced to this dessert in a restaurant in USA. Though I don’t have a sweet tooth, I cannot resist this one. I started making it at home in my own way. The way to eat is to take a plain white plate , then put the small square or round piece (which ever shape you like, I prefer the round one) of hot chocolate brownie, put one large scoop of Vanilla ice cream ,Hershey's chocolate sauce & drizzle the caramel sauce all over the plate ………..and enjoy.

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE BROWNIE

Cooking Time:- 45min

Level :-Easy

Servings :- 8 to 10 Servings

Ingredients

• 6 ounces good quality bittersweet chocolate, plus 6 ounces
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 1/2 tablespoons water
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 Cup All Purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups walnuts, coarsely chopped (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a medium saucepan, combine 6 ounces chocolate with butter, sugar, and water. Cook over low heat, stirring, until melted. Set aside to cool a bit. Break up the remaining chocolate and stir into melted chocolate mixture. Whisk in eggs, flour, and salt. Add walnuts if desired. Batter will be thick and lumpy. Spray a 9-inch square pan with non-stick spray and scrape batter into pan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

CARAMEL SAUCE

Cooking Time :- 15min

Level :- Intermediate

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Mix the water and sugar in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until the sugar dissolves. Do not stir. Increase the heat to medium and boil uncovered until the sugar turns a warm chestnut brown (about 350 degrees F on a candy thermometer), about 5 to 7 minutes, gently swirling the pan to stir the mixture. Be careful – the mixture is extremely hot! Watch the mixture very carefully at the end, as it will go from caramel to burnt caramel very quickly. Turn off the heat. Stand back to avoid any splattering and slowly add the cream and vanilla. Don't worry - the cream will bubble violently and the caramel will solidify.

Simmer over low heat stirring constantly, until the caramel dissolves and the sauce is smooth, about 2 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature, at least 4 hours. It will thicken as it sits

Suggestion: -

To get the round shape either you can use a cup cake mold & put the batter separately in each of them & bake, or cut the cake with a round shape cookie cutter after baking whichever is convenient.

After making the caramel sauce you can save the unused sauce in a glass container( as it will be good for a month or two) & use it later as required.

You can also buy the Hershey’s caramel sauce from store,.

You can also put some freshly chopped Strawberries.

Facts about coffee

Hi,


This is my first post after creating my very own blog.......so kind of excited :). As this is my first article, I thought, since I start my day with coffee why not enlighten everyone about it. Like me, I am sure there are many individuals who cannot start there day without a cup of coffee. Yesterday night I was watching Discovery where I came to know some surprising facts about coffee. I used to think that having more than a cup of coffee is not good for health, but that program proved me wrong. Having 2 to 3 cups of coffee is in fact good because it contains natural antioxidants like poly phenols which is also present in grape juice and which is very good for skin(Anti-aging). The main ingredient of the coffee is Caffeine (the main reason for which some people have it too) which is also a natural component of chocolate and tea , and is used as an added energy boost in most colas and energy drinks. It’s also found in diet pills and some over-the-counter pain relievers and medicines. Because of the caffeine content, coffee is also good in reducing risk of Parkinson's, Alzheimer, Diabetes, Colon Cancer etc.


Personally i think that everything is good in moderation.


Results of some studies Coffee even offsets some of the damage caused by other vices, some research indicates. "People who smoke and are heavy drinkers have less heart disease and liver damage when they regularly consume large amounts of coffee compared to those who don't," says DePaulis.


Of course I don't support the statement above...................


There's also some evidence that coffee may help manage asthma and even control attacks when medication is unavailable, stop a headache, boost mood, and even prevent cavities.


For more information go to http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/does-coffee-have-nutritional-value-you-bet


The Japanese have been known to bathe in coffee grounds fermented with pineapple pulp for reducing wrinkles and improving their skin - http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/how-stuff-works/coffee.html


There are various types of coffee, but what a lot of people do not know is that the most expensive one is an animal coffee called Kopi Luwak. Kopi Luwak gourmet coffee actually passes completely through the digestive tract of the exotic Indonesian Palm Civet (Luwak) without being digested by the animal. Though the process of making this coffee is disgusting, I am really amazed with it's growing popularity. I can't even imagine how someone can think of trying this coffee (some have described this as a poopy coffee). Of course, I really don't see the need behind having such a expensive (and eeeeewwwww!!!).............


There are lots of other types of animal coffee - Monkey, Weasel, Bird,........


For more information go to http://www.tastesoftheworld.net/product_info.php/cPath/28/products_id/75