Date and Grape Chutney

This is a Sanjeev Kapoor recipe, which I tried and liked, the only change I would make to the recipe next time, is chop the grapes instead of cooking them whole. Its a nice change from your regular tamarind date chutney and goes well with vegetarian or non vegetarian kababs.

Ingredients :

               

25- 30 seedless Grapes,, chopped
10-11 Medjool dates,deseeded and chopped, you can adjust the quantity to suit your taste
1/2 tsp. Cumin seeds
1 tsp. Red chilli powder
Raisins
Salt to taste
Jaggery (gur),grated 1/4 cup

Method :

Dry roast cumin seeds, cool and powder. Cook together grapes and dates along with few drops of water till the grapes are completely mashed. Add red chilli powder and roasted cumin powder, raisins and cook for five minutes. Add salt and jaggery and mix well till the jaggery is completely dissolved and well blended. Serve at room temperature.

I followed the recipe as is and made no creative changes, turned out good. Definitely good for a break from the good ol tamarind and date chutney.

As dates are considered a power food I am sending this to Jagrutis Super Foods Super Power event 

Avocado and Chicken Rolls

I love avocados for their subtle buttery taste and goodness. I add them to rotis, dosas, salads, wanna try Cham's avocado cake recipe I am even thinking of trying a mithai with it ...cant have enough.

Do you love avocados? Then you will love the new Avocados From Mexico recipe website "Recipes From Avocado Lovers", where you can submit your favorite avocado recipes and share you avocado love with with other foodies like you.

This recipe is an amazing appetiser, the original recipe is from Guy Fieri , I have tweaked it to my taste. One thing I have realised is Avocados go great with chicken, try them together.

Ingredietns:

2 tablespoons canola oil

1/2 cup finely minced red onion

2 tablespoons minced ginger

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1/4 cup finely chopped celery

2 cups chopped chicken breast

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 cup julienned green cabbage

1/2 cup shredded carrots

4 cups canola oil, for frying,

12 egg roll wrappers

2 avocados, sliced into 24 pieces

1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon milk

Jarred sweet chili sauce, for dipping

Method:

In a saute pan over high heat, add canola oil. Saute red onions until translucent. Add ginger, garlic, celery, chicken, and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat. Deglaze pan with soy sauce. Cool mixture.

In large bowl combine cabbage, carrots and chicken mixture.

In medium saucepan, heat canola oil to 350 degrees F. Oil needs to be deep enough to keep egg roll from touching bottom of pan. Add more oil, if needed.

To roll egg rolls, layout egg roll skin with corner facing you, place approximately 1/12th of mixture on roll and place 2 pieces of avocado on top of mixture. Fold corner over mixture, and then fold outside corners over the mixture, making a roll, 4 to 5-inches wide. Roll firmly, being careful not to tear wrapper, and seal the final edge with egg wash.

Dredge the egg roll in egg wash, allow excess to drain off and submerge egg roll in oil. Fry until golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes. Drain on sheet tray lined with a cooling rack.

*This sponsorship is brought to you by Recipes from Avocados From Mexico who we have partnered with for this promotion.

Naan Chips

I love chips and dips.  I make it almost everytime I host someone or also for a quick evening snack. Though its easy to buy Pita chips, its much easier to make them at home besides you can flavor them any which way you want and come up with any variation. Like this time I made Naan Chips.

After every party, I always have leftover Naan, if not much atleast some, but I do. So I come up with different ways of reusing them. Like this Pizza. Last time I made these chips, they came out perfect.I love them best when they are still warm , with a creamy dip or even guacamole. They do have excellent shelf life though and can be made ahead of time , which makes it ideal for parties.

Ingredients:

Roghani Naan , sliced into wedges

dried oregano (or any dried herb or spice u like)

salt (I used kosher salt)

black pepper powder (I used freshly ground )

extra virgin olive oil.(evoo)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Put the naan wedges in a large bowl, pour some evoo, sprinkle salt, pepper and oregano . Toss with your hand so the wedges are slightly coated with the oil and spices. Spread on a baking sheet and bake for 8 to 10 mins or until slightly browned. Remove from oven and let the cool slightly.

I am sending this to Ayeshas Anyone Can Cook event. , Naynas Lets Cook Speedy Snacks event and Vardhinis Bake Fest #5 hosted by Kalyani.
 
I have a special announcement, 10 days and two posts later I finally get to introduce my other blog "the halal foodie " on Lazzat..

I hope you welcome it with the same love and support, so check it out, dont forget to subscribe and follow. I look forward to see you there :)

Thank You for the ones who already did.

Sour cream Fried Chicken

I wish all my readers, each and every one of you, a happy, healthy and peaceful 2012!

If you want to take a break from tandoori chicken or tikkas or kebabs ... this is recipe you should try. Its a nice, refreshing break from the (nice, refreshing but) regular (ly used) flavor.
I have eaten (the halal) KFC only once in my lifetime n frankly speaking I am glad about it. Apart from all the "main stream concerns" , I felt it was very bland for my taste.

This particular recipe is very flavorful with the mustard and spices in the breading mixture. The original recipe asks to fry the chicken in vegetable shortening, but I have used vegetable oil instead. I bet frying in the shortening would certainly make a difference but ....

Ingredients:

Marinade

1/2 C whole milk

1 C sour cream
3 tbsp. Dijon Mustard
2 tsp. salt (or to taste)
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper (or to taste)
3 1/2 to 4 lbs Chicken (approx. 8 to 10 big pieces)

Breading

2 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. salt
2 tsp paprika/ chili pdr
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Oil for frying.

Method:

In a bowl, combine the ingredients for the marinade. Lightly season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and place them in the bowl with the marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 to 12 hours.

In a plate, combine the ingredients for the breading mixture, toss the marinated chicken  until they are well coated with the mixture. Place the breaded chicken on a rack with a baking sheet. When all of the pieces are breaded, refrigerate them for 15 minutes.You can skip this step n fry the pieces directly, but refrigerating them, even if its only for 15 mins, will give you a crispier crust .

In a large skillet, heat oil over low heat until it reaches 350 degrees F. Test 1 piece first. The oil should bubble and react as you add the first piece. Use a pair of heat-resistant tongs to gently place the chicken pieces in a single layer in the skillet over medium heat. Cook, undisturbed, 5 to 8 minutes, or until you can see the underside of the chicken browning. Remove the skillet from the heat and gently turn the pieces on their second side. Cook for an additional 10 minutes.

When the chicken is cooked through, remove it and transfer it to a rack. Serve immediately or keep in a warm oven until ready to serve.

Enjoy !

Murgh Malai Kabab Bites

A very Happy and Healthy New Year to all my readers and fellow bloggers !

Haah ! Its so good to see you ...

The new year has begun and I am glad I checked out one of my resolutions already :) posting here, before the first month ends that is.

A lot happened since we last met in Oct 2010. All of it involved a lot of cooking, some hits and some misses, and a lot of eating out too !

Lets see....we bought our first house, then came the moving , then it was eid-ul-adha (bakri eid), then we were settling down, we had friends visiting us, then the house warming, then of course we were travelling and shopping. Throw in few snowstorms and there you go, 3 months of madness in less than three sentences  :)

Now, as we are still settling ...(yeah...thts right... slowly but surely...) I am kinda trying to get back into the blogging mode, catching up, see all the deliciousness I have missed, welcome new friends, which reminds me , I wanna thank all of you who emailed me, left their comments, sent their wishes, Thank You very much , I am trying to reply all the comments / questions/ suggestions ASAP.

Coming to the recipe, when I say bites its not exactly an amuse-bouche, the kababs are may be 2 or 3 biters, but they are super delicious ...try any size ... I marinated the chicken overnight but half hour should also suffice.

Ingredients :

2 C Chicken breasts, cubed

1 tsp.ginger paste, 

1 tsp. garlic paste,

1/2 tsp. chili pdr or to taste,

1/4 tsp. turmeric

1/2 C cream,

salt, to taste

1.5 tsp. dhania pdr

1/2 C panko (optional)

olive oil, for shallow frying.

Method:

Combine all the ingredients except panko and oil and let it marinate at room temperature for at least half an hour, or overnight in the refrigerator. Heat oil in a pan , dip the chicken pieces in the panko/bread crumbs and shallow fry on medium heat until both sides are golden brown. Drain on a paper towel/ tissue. Serve hot / warm.

I am sending this to the Ramadan Friendly Recipes event at "the halal foodie" blog

Enjoy!

Ritz Chaat

Ramadan Kareem to all.

Its the first day of the holy month of Ramadan , time to officially announce a break from blogging. Before I go, as promised I have a super delicious treat to share with you all.

I love chaats, I mean, who doesn't ? There are many toppings that go well with the Ritz crackers/ Monaco biscuits, the chaat toppings are my favourite way to doll up these salty crackers. These make excellent party foods, I served them at one I recently hosted and it was liked by all. 

When it comes to chaat nothing is right or wrong , it all builds according to your tastes or preferences (remember asking the chaat wala to add more imli ? ). There is no specific recipe for this chaat so I 'll simply put how I assembled these.

To assemble this chaat spread some boiled n mashed potato on each ritz cracker , top it with pudina / mint chutney, Tamarind/ Imli ki chutney, ketchup, sprinkle some chaat masala, top with finely chopped red onions then some nylon sev (thin sev) , garnish with chopped coriander/ cilantro n mint leaves.

Tip:

You can use home made or store bought chutneys. If you plan to make a big batch of these, fill the mashed potatoes in a piping bag n pipe some on each cracker instead of spreading on each individual one, this way its faster. Use a squeeze bottle for the chutneys.

Visit my Ramadan page for more recipe ideas and inspirations !

This is my entry to the following events:

Party Treats event series of Monthly mingle hosted by Saraswathi and started by Meeta

Joy from Fasting to Feasting  hosted by Lubna

Visual Treats hosted by Sanyukta

Lets Munch  Tea Time Snack  hosted by Sharmilee

Dahi ke Jamun

Hey, did I just reveal the secret ingredient in the title itself ? I guess I did :)

I never knew the guessing games are soooo much fun, its almost addictive :) Thank you all who played along and made it this exciting for me. Most of you thought  the jamuns were made using bread or potato/sweet potato , some even suggested paneer , rice, etc ....but after all those guesses no one could come up with the right ingredient... so its finally on me to announce that the key ingredient is Yogurt ...yes... Dahi (as its know in India).

Hung yogurt kneaded with flour n semolina n soaked in rose syrup... This is a very versatile recipe ...you can also try flavouring your jamuns with Vanilla but I like the traditional taste.If the Jamuns dont cook through till the centre you can make flat patties , like the one you would make for ras malai or cutlets and fry n then soak in syrup. Choice is yours. But overall this is a delightful recipe. 

Ingredients:

For Jamuns:

1 C all-purpose flour,

1 C semolina,

1 C yogurt,

1 tbsp. ghee,

a pinch of baking powder,

1/2 tsp. cardamom pdr,

1/2 tsp. nutmeg powder,
oil/ ghee for frying.

For the syrup:

1 C sugar

1/4 C water

1 tbsp. rose water

Method:

Cover a colander with muslin or paper towel and let the yogurt drain overnight.

Sift together the flour, semolina, baking pdr, cardamom pdr and nutmeg pdr. Rub in the ghee. Add the hung yogurt and knead well. to a smooth dough. Cover and set aside for atleast 3-4 hrs.

Meanwhile make the syrup. Heat the sugar and water together till you get a single thread consistency. Let it cool slightly and add the rose water.

Heat oil, shape the jamuns and deep fry on medium heat until they turn golden brown. While the jamuns are still hot either soak them in the syrup or just drop in the syrup and take them out immediately.

This sweet treat is being sent to the following events:

Sweets and Savouries for Diwali hosted by Sri

Party treats event series of Monthly mingle  hosted by  Saraswathi and started by Meeta

Only Kids delight hosted by Pari  

and Iftaar Moments hosted by Ayeesha.

Khajur

After much deliberation, Lazzat is finally on Facebook ! Ya , it took me this long :) As naive as this may sound , I would  love any suggestions or tips or even tutorials  relating to Facebook .

Ramadan is just a month away, and as usual I will officially be on a blogging break. Meanwhile I would like to share some interesting recipes and also get some drafted .

Khajur is a big part of my childhood memories. This is one simple recipe, can be stored for almost a month , though they wont last that long. Its a perfect snack for kids of all ages. We always take a big bag of khajurs when we plan a road trip.

The best part is you can freeze them n fry as and when needed (see tip below) , which comes handy especially during Ramadan. 

Ingredients:

1/2 kg maida,

1/4 kg sugar,

1 tbsp khas khas/ poppy seeds, lightly roasted

1 tbsp ghee,

a generous pinch of saffron, dissolved in 2 tbsp. warm milk,

3 tbsp milkmaid / khoya,

1 t rose water,

15 dried dates, pitts removed and chopped,

1/4 - 1/2 C almonds, slivered or chopped

1/4 - 1/2 C golden raisins,

milk , as needed, (approx. 2-3 tsp.)

3 eggs

Method:

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and knead it into a stiff dough without using any water. If needed you can use some milk but use very little at a time. Cover with a damp paper towel and let it rest for about half an hour.Then take a portion, roll it out , approximate a centimeter thick and cut into diamonds. At this stage you can freeze them or store in Ziploc bags or heat oil and fry on medium heat on both sides till golden . Let cool and store in airtight container.

To freeze :

Once cut , place the khajurs on a plate n put it in the freezer. After 10-15 mins. they just pop out of the plate , stack them in Ziploc bags and put it back in the freezer without letting them thaw.

P.S: If you are hosting an event or are aware of any, which you think this post might be eligible please let me know, I would love to send in my entry and show my support to the host and the event :) You can drop me a comment or just email me (bloglazzat@gmail.com)

Thank You !

Thanks to Fathima this post is now being sent to Ayeesha for her event Iftaar Moments

Semi Home Made Event Round Up

The Semi Home Made Indian Recipes event is officially over and I am pleased to present to you the creative, smart and delicious round up. I am so glad I hosted this event coz this way I gotto know lots of new blogs and made new friends.

I would personally like to give a big hug and thank every one who did send in their contributions, who said they would try and even the ones who emailed me saying why they couldnt :)

One thing I would like to mention before going to the round up is that I am trying to include all the readers who comment (even if its only once) in my fellow bloggers list, if you have sent in your entry / commented and dont see your blog in the fellow bloggers list, please let me know.

Following are the entries in order I recieved them :


Yasmeen -- Salmon Burgers with Butternut Squash Fries

Ambika --- Egg Curry

Tazaika -- Egg Sandwich

Nithu -- Chilli Paratha

Priya -- Chilli Chicken 65

Priya -- Prawn Tikka Pizza

Asha -- Cinnamon - Brown Sugar Rolls

Asha -- Pickle Masala Dal



Kalai -- Fantastic Croissants

Swathi -- Vegetable Puffs

Ruchika -- Paneer Calzone

Divya-- Tomato Sevai

Priyanka -- Spiced Vegetable Couscous

SE-- Almond and Chocolate Rugelach

Preethi -- Chicken Tikka

Tazaika -- Curd Raita

Cham -- Vegetable Samosa

Cham -- Rasmalai

Jyoti -- Vegetable Stew

Cool Lassi(e)-- Tandoori Chicken

Cool Lassi(e) -- Chicken 65

Cool Lassi(e) --Ice cream lollipops

Cool Lassi(e) -- Sugarplum balls

Cool Lassi(e) -- Bread Pudding

Cool Lassi(e) -- Baked Mini Samosas

Cool Lassi(e) -- Malai Kofta

Nithu-- Pav Bhaji

Following are my contributions to the event

Grilled Indian Pizza

Raita

Vegeatble Korma

Gulab Jamuns

To choose a winner was the toughest, so we went for the lucky draw method and every entry was listed. If you sent more than one entry your name was included for every entry individually, and so the badge of honor goes to .....drum roll .... Cool Lassi(e) !!!

Congratulations, this is yours to keep :)

Have a great week y'all , hope to see you soon :D