Carrot Halwa / Gajar Ka Halwa

An easy, no-fuss and most popular Indian dessert a.k.a Carrot Halwa! Does it need a better introduction? I tried this once for my best friend DK and trust me beginners, one CANNOT go wrong! With it's simple procedure and heavenly taste, this is a must try on special days or on days you want to feel special! With Diwali around the corner, let's start grating... Carrots, of course! ;)


Ingredients:

Carrots (grated) - 1/2 cup
Milk - 1/2 cup
Sweetened Khoa - 100 gms
Sugar -1/2 cup
Ghee - 2 - 3 tbsp
Cashew nuts - as required
Raisins - as required
Cardamom Powder - 1/4 tsp


Procedure: 

1. Take a wide bottomed pan and heat 1 tbsp of ghee. Shallow fry cashew nuts and raisins. Keep them aside.
2. Add milk in the same pan. Once it boils, add the grated carrots.
3. Keep stirring till the carrots get cooked in the milk. Stir continuously else the base will get burnt.
4. Once the carrots get cooked, add sugar and keep stirring until it dissolves.
5. Add Khoa once the sugar melts.
6. Stir until the Khoa mixes well. Add cardomom powder and mix them well. The carrots would have absorbed the milk and the mixture would have become thickened by now.
7. Add the remaining ghee and cook for 1-2 minutes,
8. Garnish with raisins and cashew nuts.
9. Serve hot or at room temperature.

P.S: I had no time for the picture as it got over in no time! ;)

Happy Diwali, folks! :)

Potato cheese balls

An old schoolmate of mine had come over and since we were meeting after a long time, I thought I could make something to surprise her of my culinary skills which she never knew I had or will ever have! And I had this sudden craving for something cheesy and I suddenly remembered this dish I had at a restaurant few days back. So yes, I started off and this took less than 15 minutes as it's as simple with the minimum but just the sufficient ingredients and it's more like a customized recipe... You can include/delete as per your taste ☺ I'm posting both the methods I tried today... Let's take off!

Ingredients:
Potatoes (boiled, peeled and mashed) - 2
Onion (very finely chopped) - 1
Cheese (grated) - Anything you like (I used cheddar)
Green chilly (very finely chopped) - 1
Red chilli powder - 2 tsp
Garam masala - 2 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Oil - For frying

For the outer coating: (You can use any of the two methods)
1. Bread crumbs - 1 cup
Egg white - 1 (or) corn flour mixed in water - 1 cup
2. Bread slices (corners removed) - one slice for one cheese ball you make
Water - As required

Method:

1. Mix together the mashed potatoes, onions, cheese, green chilly, red chilli powder, garam masala and salt in a large bowl.
2. Make small balls of the mixture and keep them aside. Meanwhile heat oil in a kadai or wok.
3. For the outer coating, if you're following the first method, take one ball of the mixture you made and dip it in egg white or cornflour mixed in water and roll it in the bread crumbs so as to get coated evenly. If following the second method, dip the bread slice in water on both sides, drain off the water by pressing the bread slice between your hands. Take a mixture ball, place it on the bread slice and roll it into a ball.
4. Deep fry the cheese balls. Make sure you don't turn them unless they turn brown as they might tend to break. Serve hot with tomato ketchup! 

The second one was prepared using the first method and the first one with the second. But whatever, both were yummmmmylicious! :D

Crispy fish colo - colo / Whole fish fry

I was in the library one day, so bored (obviously!) and randomly flipping pages of a novel which was only helping me get even more bored. So I thought I could exchange it for some DIY project book or something that would lift my spirits for the moment. My eyes were scanning through the racks when a big bright orange book caught my eye. It had the word "Asia" on it. Curious to know what it was about, I immediately pounced upon it. And tada... It was a book on the various Asian cuisines with mouth watering pictures of them! It took me about half an hour to flip through the whole book and when I was about to close, the last recipe definitely was the first thing I planned to try once I got back home. It was a simple fish fry recipe but with a Lao twist. Yes! It was a dish from Laos, a landlocked country in the Southeast Asia. So, over to Laos in the Indian way! ;)

Ingredients:
Whole fish (cleaned) - 1 (Anything that you like and that which fits your pan)
Red chilly - 3-4
Green chilly - 3-4
Ginger - 1/2-1 inch piece
Garlic - 4-5 cloves
Red chilli powder - 2 tsp
Fish sauce (optional) - 1 tsp
Lime juice - 2 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Oil - For frying
Coriander leaves (finely chopped) - For garnishing

Method:

1. Slash the fish with a knife making 3-4 cuts on both the sides.
2. Mix red chilli powder, lime juice, fish sauce and salt and rub over the entire fish.
3. Blend the chillies, ginger and garlic in a processor and marinate the fish in that for about an hour. Make sure to rub the paste inside the slashed parts as well.
4. Heat oil in a wok and fry the marinated fish on both sides till it is completely cooked.
5. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Slashed!

Chilli burst

Crispy fish colo - colo

Instant curd vada / Dahi vada

Hello guys! Hope you are melting in the summer heat just like me :D I've always liked the way summer is in the movies... The sunbaths, bikini strolls, surfing! But Chennai heat leaves me with ONLY one option - To sit indoors and hog on something cool with the normal snack being a bore! So here's a cool evening snack that's  not only finger-licking-good but also with just the minimum ingredients and hold on... Did I tell you this vada is made out of bread? Sounds cool, doesn't it? ;)

Ingredients:

Bread - 5-6 pieces
Onions (finely chopped) - 1
Carrots (grated) - 1/2 cup
Green chillies (finely chopped) - 1-2
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves (finely chopped) - 2 tbsp
Curd/Dahi (beaten smooth) - 1-2 cups
Cooking oil - To fry
Salt - To taste

Method:

1. Remove the sides of the bread slices and break the bread into small pieces in a bowl.
2. Add the onions, 1/4 cup of carrot, chillies, cumin seeds, 1 tbsp of coriander, salt and mix them well along with sufficient curd so as to get a batter consistency.
3. Heat oil in a pan. Wet your hands and take a small ball of the mixture and pat it gently on your palm to flatten it.
4. Gently put it into the oil. Deep fry till they turn golden brown.
5. Repeat the same for the remaining mixture. You can do it in batches. 
6. Drain the vadas and keep them aside. Pour some curd over them and refrigerate for half an hour.
7. Garnish with the remaining grated carrots and coriander leaves while serving.

Just out from the pan

After garnishing

Crab fry

Okay! So here goes my first non-veg recipe. One of my favorite too. Who doesn't love seafood, or crab to be more specific? Here's a very simple recipe that will keep you wanting for more!

Ingredients:

Crab - 2
Onion (finely chopped) - 2
Tomato (finely chopped) - 2-3
Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Chilli powder - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - For garnishing
Coriander leaves - For garnishing
Salt - To taste
Oil - 2 tbsp

Method:

1. Boil water (1 to 2 cups) in a vessel with salt and turmeric powder.
2. Add crab to this and cook for 3-4 minutes. Drain water and keep it aside.
3. Heat oil in a pan and add onions. Saute till they turn golden brown.
4. Add ginger-garlic paste and fry for a minute.
5. Add tomatoes, chilli powder, coriander powder, salt and water from step-1. Fry till oil separates.
6. Add the crab and cook till the spices get mixed well with the crab.
7. Garnish with coriander and curry leaves.

Chocolate French Toast

Okay! So I had this sudden craving for something chocolaty and something that had to do with bread. Ummmm.. Bread + Chocolate = NO, not that chocolate bread spread again! The only proper thing I know to make with bread was the bread toast. So why not a simple, easy-to-make chocolate toast? ;)

Ingredients: 

White bread slices - 4 (Preferably thick ones because I used normal ones and they broke off)
Milk - 1 cup
Granulated sugar - 3/4 cup
Cocoa powder - 1/3 cup
Eggs - 2
Table salt - 1/4 tsp
Unsalted butter - 2 tbsp
Sliced bananas or strawberries - For garnishing

Method:

1. Mix granulated sugar, cocoa powder and table salt together in a bowl. 
2. Pour half a cup of milk and the eggs into this bowl and blend till there are no lumps formed.
3. Arrange the bread slices in a plate and pour this mixture over the bread slices.
4. Poke the slices with a fork so that it absorbs well. Let it soak for about 20 minutes, turning it once in between.
5. Heat butter in a nonstick tawa and fry the bread slices until they are well cooked (usually 3-4 minutes).
6. Remove from heat and garnish with bananas or strawberries.

I know this doesn't look like the original French toast. It was because of two reasons:

1. The bread was of the normal size. I should have used the thicker ones.
2. I didn't include a lot of ingredients which actually go into the making of the French toast. Will try the original version soon.

Cheers! ☺