Saunfwali Malai Roti and Award

This is a very simple and easy preparation. Don't let the picture deceive you , it does not look as good as I would have liked it to be, but I still wanted to share this recipe with you. The roti in the picture is the last one I saved just for the sake of few clicks :)

This post is being sent to the CWS - Fennel event hosted by Priya

and to Ayeesha's event Iftaar Moments

Ingredients :

2 C Whole wheat flour,

1 C all- purpose flour/ maida,

1 C heavy cream,

1 T fennel seeds/saunf,

ghee, solidified, as needed

1/4 t salt

a small bunch(or a big handful) of mint leaves, chopped

oil , for cooking .

lukewarm water, as needed.

Method:

Roast the fennel seeds in a skillet on med. heat, without using any oil, until they slightly change their color and you can smell the aroma. Remove of heat , let it cool then crush it with a rolling pin or a pestle.

Mix both the flours, add the crushed fennel, salt, cream, mint and knead it into a soft dough using as little water as possible. Cover with a damp paper towel and let it rest for at least half an hour.

Divide the dough into lime size balls n roll these balls into flour.Now roll out each ball into 3" circle, apply solidified ghee / oil , fold it into a square as shown below . 

(1)

Dip into flour and roll out on the sides into a square.Cook on a hot griddle (medium heat) till brown specks appear on both sides. You can also roll them as regular rotis/ chapatis. Serve with any spicy meat or veggie qorma.

(2)

I also use these rotis to make Kabab rolls using shami kebabs, onions, tomatoes,cilantro, tamarind chutney, sprinkle some chilli pdr, chaat masala and squirt a wedge of lime. Roll it up n enjoy :P

(3)

Also to share is an award , which I am so glad to accept from two dear friends and very versatile bloggers Deepa and Guna. They both thought of me as a Versatile Blogger for which I wanna say a big "Thank You !"

To accept this award I have to thank the person who awarded it, share seven things about myself and pass it to fifteen blogger friends.

Well, this is the toughest, 7 things about me ....OK here we go,

- I am working on one more blog , in my mind that is :) will "soon" let you know

- Ramadan is my favourite time of the year, like many I am way too excited about it,

- Playing with my 2 yr old and making him laugh is my favourite thing to do

- I enjoy watching good documentaries

- I like to maintain "To Do" lists for almost every task :) 

- I am very bad at writing about myself

- I *heart* Chaats...yum..yum :)

Now to pass it on  I choose,  

Priya, of Priya's Easy and Tasty recipes

Asha,  of Foodies Hope

Vasavi, of Vasavi's Recipes

Shaheen, of Malabar Spices

Sanyukta of Creative Sanyukta

Satya of Super Yummy Recipes

Fathima of Thattukada

Yasmeen of Health Nut

Malar of Kitchen Tantra

Cham of Spice Club

Gulmohar of Collaborative Curry

Anjum of Anjus Kitchen Treasures

Saraswathi of Saras Corner

Ayeesha of Taste Of Pearl City

PJ of Ginger and Garlic

Though my list did comprise of about some 40- 50 people whom I think of as very versatile and creative bloggers,I had to settle down to 15. Its gonna be very exciting to read more about them and the ones they tag. 

Before I take a month off during the holy month of Ramadan I have a very interesting recipe to share, hopefully very soon, till then Happy Blogging everyone !

Butter Pecan Cookies and Awards

I am glad to announce that over the past few days Lazzat has bagged few awards, courtesy of Fathima and Nithu . A big Thanks to both of you and I  do accept these with much appreciation.

Fathima  presented these awards

and Nithu presented these awards

Update : I would like to pass on these awards to Asha, Cham, Aruna, PJ, Priya,  Shaheen and Yasmeen 

Since it was such a joyful week I thought it would be apt to share a simple, quick and delicious, melt in your mouth sweet treat with you. So presenting the butter pecan cookies...

These are sooo easy and sooo delicious , you gotta try these. Not too sweet, melt in your mouth goodness. Its an eggless recipe, so you can actually taste the batter and make necessary changes or tweak the recipe, have fun with it ! The ingredients are as follows:

Ingredients:

1 C (or 2 sticks) butter, room temp,

1/2 C pdrd sugar, plus more for coating cookies

1 3/4 C all-purpose flour,

1 C finely chopped pecans,

1 tsp. vanilla extract.

Method :

Preheat oven to 270 F.

Using an electric mixer at low speed, cream the butter and sugar until smooth, add vanilla and gradually add the flour. Mix in the pecans with a spatula. Line the cookie sheets with parchment paper.With floured hands, take out about a tbsp. of dough and shape it into rounds or crescents or squares. Place the cookies at least an inch apart and bake for 40 minutes. Roll them in more powdered sugar while still warm. Cool completely on wire racks and store in airtight containers.

Easy Milk Burfi / Peda

If you live in cities like Chicago, New Jersey, New York , Dallas (to name a few) or places where there are a lot of Indians or Pakistanis residing like the Bay area etc. finding freshly made mithai is no big deal. Mithai, by the way, is a milk based sweet treat loaded with sugar and khoya and nuts /dry fruits. Back in India mithais are made on daily basis and are found everyday in every local mithai shops. My childhood memories bring back the aromas of freshly fried Jalebis and still warm, melt in your mouth besan laddoos, mysore paak ....yum... I remember when we had huge celebrations at home, my father would call a mithaiwala (person who makes/sells mithai ) home and get mothichoor laddoos etc. done as we kids watched over . It was fun !

In Boston, where I live (in the suburbs), we usually have to settle for the mithais we get in the frozen section of the desi store. Milk burfi also known as kalakand is one of my favourites. This recipe would be more of a burfi than a kalakand due to its texture as kalakand generally is very granular.

Its a wonderful recipe, fit for parties/crowds. It can be made ahead of time with very little effort, few ingredients, no added sugar as we use sweetened condensed milk and gives very delicious results.

Ingredients :

1 can (14 0z.) condensed milk,
15 oz. ricotta cheese,
1 C pistachios coarsely chopped,
1.5 tsp. elaichi powder, or to taste ,
ghee for greasing .

Method :

In a heavy botttom pan combine condensed milk and ricotta cheese. Cook on medium heat until the mixture thickens slightly. Remove from stove top and stir in the elaichi /cardamom powder. Grease a dish with ghee. (I used a 8" square baking dish, but you could also use a pie plate or any other size plate depending on how thick you want the slices to be.) Let the mixture cool slightly, then pour it on the greased plate sprinkle pistachios on the top and press lightly with your hands , just so the nuts stick to the mixture. Let it cool. Refrigerate for 2- 3 hours/ overnight. Cut into squares and serve.

If you want to make pedas then follow the same instructions until you pour the mixture to set. Let it set in fridge for a few hours. Using a tablespoon measure scoop out the mix and roll between palms to make pedas , roll the pedas in ground pistachios and refrigerate again for some time.

To share with this sweet treat are a lot of awards kindly passed on by a very sweet friend Sri Lekha . Thanks Sri for remembering me :)

I would further pass on these awards to 5 Star Foodie, A2Z Vegetarian, Anjum, Asha, Humaira, Jeena, Lubna, Lubna, Mansi, Mona, Pravs, Shaista and Yasmeen for inspiring many like me and being good friends, Thank you !

Healthy Choco Logs

Its raining chocolates at "Poornimas For the love of Chocolate "event. One of my favourites, dark chocolate is an excellent source of anti oxidants, combine it with the goodness of dried fruits and nuts and you have a healthy, on the go snack ready in no time .

There are no exact measurements or ingredients for this recipe. Just use your favourite dried fruits, as much or as little you want like dried figs, cranberries, apricots, pineapple, candied ginger, etc.. the list goes on , season it with cinnamon or cardamom and use a syrup like maple or honey to bind it all together. I melted 72% dark chocolate with almonds , the almonds give a nice crunch , and I don't need to go through the process of double dipping. You can totally use plain dark chocolate or any flavoured dark chocolate , try it with even more or less percent of cacao, its totally versatile and very healthy.

Ingredients:



1C dried figs, (I used organic Turkish figs),
1/2 C dried apricots,
1/4 C golden raisins,
1/4 C dried cranberries,
1/4 cup crystallized ginger,
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon,
1 tablespoon honey,
3.5 oz. bar of dark chocolate (I used 72% cacao with almonds), chopped

Directions:

Remove the stems from the figs and discard. Roughly chop all the dried fruits. Put the figs, apricots, raisins, ginger,cranberries, cinnamon and honey in a food processor and process for about 45 seconds, until the ingredients are finely chopped and begin to stick together. Roll the mixture with your hands into logs and keep them aside.

Melt half of the chocolate in a bowl over a double boiler(see below). Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the remaining chocolate. Stir until all the chocolate is melted. Using a fork roll the fruit logs into the melted chocolate 1 or 2 at a time, until they are all covered. Place them back on the waxed parchment paper or silipat and chill in the refrigerator until set, about 15 minutes. Serve at room temperature.

How to use the double boiler:

Place a small bowl over a saucepan, containing barely simmering water, over low heat Make sure the water is at least 2 inches from the bottom of the bowl containing the chocolate.

Also to share is an award passed on to me from dear Srilekha ,"Wylde Woman Award" started by Tammy. Thank You very much Siri , I am so glad to have it.

The Purpose of the Award :

To send love and acknowledgment to men and women, who brighten your day, teach you new things and live their lives fully with generosity and joy. It's been a blessing and an inspiration to meet all of you through your wonderful blogs.

I further pass it on to all my fellow bloggers.

Out of hibernation :)

A big "HI" to all my fellow bloggers and friends . Its been a long time .....so much to catch up ....so much to say n blog .....But let me begin by thanking all those who kept checking on me ...emailing me ....n also dropping their comments/feedback . Its very nice of you.



Where have I been all these days ? Well , cut the long story short , I was simply not keeping well n when I did, I went to India .....a totally impromptu visit .....for a month n half ....after coming back I was too lazy :P n also a bit busy .A lot happened in between .... n though I kept dishing out things I just did'nt find time for the elaborate photo sessions.

Also my dear blog turned one ....ya its been more than a year now since I started blogging at Lazzat... my thanks to all the warm hearted people who encouraged me , visited n appreciated my blog , gave their feedback / comments n also inspired me . I hope to blog more regularly n take less "offs" this year :D

My special thanks to Mona of Zaiqa for passing on the Nice Matters Award to me . Mona I really appreciate it !

"Nice Matters Award is for those bloggers that are just nice people , good blog friends and those that inspire good feelings and inspiration! Those that care about others that are there to lend support or those that are just a positive influence in our blogging world!"

I pass it on to all the creative and generous bloggers who deserve this esp. Asha of Foodies Hope, Cynthia of Tastes like home, Chef Jeena , The Well Seasoned Cook Susan, Zlamushka of Spicy Kitchen n of course back to Mona . I guess most of you have already received this award ...but I still wanted to share it with you.

Finally , its good to be back n see the beautiful events n recipes you all have dished up ....I hope I will be back with a recipe sooon ....till then ...you all have a lovely week !

Good thing !

I feel extremely happy to share with you all the award which was passed to me by Pravs of Simply Spicy over the past weekend. Thanks Pravs :)

Though most of my Fellow Bloggers have already received this award earlier...I would like to pass it on to,

Annita

Carolyn

Linda

Mansi

Sailu

Keep Rockin' :)