Ricotta Ras Malai

Ingredients:

For the patties:

Ricotta Cheese - 15 oz
1/4 C sugar

For the milk mixture:

4-5 C Milk
2-3 tbsp. sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp cardamom powder
1/4 C Sugar  or more to suit your taste
few strands of Saffron/Zafran
1/2 tsp Kewra Water/ rose water

Sliced Almonds / Pistachios for garnish


Method:

In a heavy bottom vessel , heat milk on medium low heat, stirring occasionally, till it thickens or reduces to half . Add sugar, cardamom powder,condensed milk and saffron.Cook for a few mins.  Turn off the heat, let it cool slightly , now add kewra water.  Let it cool completely and refrigerate till ready to use. 

Preheat the oven at 350 degrees F.In a mixing bowl, whisk together the ingredients for patties ,ricotta cheese and sugar.  Mix well. Grease a 8X8 glass baking dish, pour the ricotta cheese mixture and bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until ricotta cheese looks pale yellow and has turned slightly golden at the edges. A way to test if ricotta is ready to take out of the oven , would be to insert a toothpick and see if it comes out clean. Let it cool completely.Now with a round cookie cutter, cut small round patties, you could also cut squares if you like.

Arrange the baked ricotta rounds in the serving dish, pour the cooled milk mixture and refrigerate for at least half an hour. Serve chilled.

Enjoy !

Notes:

• You could make the milk mixture and the ricotta rounds at least 3 days in advance. Remember to store them separately.
• Mix them the day you would like to serve them, so they don't be too soggy or break apart.
• You could also use half and half or evaporated milk or even add some heavy cream for added richness.
• I used a glass baking dish, but you could use any, the baking time may vary in that case
• Also if you want you patties thinner use a bigger baking dish, baking time may vary if you do.
• Adjust the quantity of sugar and flavoring to suit your taste, you dont have to add the exact amount mentioned in the recipe, you could  make it more sweeter, use less /more of cardamom or kewra

Sending it to Jagrutis, Grand Festive Feasts event.

Aash

Aash is made daily for iftaar during the month of Ramadan, the following recipe is shared by my mother-in-law, who taught me how to make it.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. Ghee
a small piece Cinnamon
2 Cardamoms
1 tbsp. moong dal
1 tbsp. Kheema(optional)
1 tsp Ginger Garlic Paste
1 tbsp. Cilantro
1 tbsp. Mint
11/2 tbsp.Coarsely Ground Rice
4 C water, or more.

Method:

Heat ghee, add cinnamon, cardamom and kheema,cook for some time now add moong dal, add ginger garlic paste and fry for few seconds, add water , cilantro and mint and salt. Let the water boil , now add rice powder and cook till rice is cooked.

You could also use stock instead of water

Sending it to Ramadan Friendly Recipes @ the halal foodie blog and Lubnas Joy from Fasting to Feasting 

Ciabatta Halwa

Though I am not a dessert person, Bread ka halwa is one dessert I can never pass. I have loved it since childhood and it still remains my favourite halwa.

There are many ways Bread is enjoyed in form of halwa. Like the Double ka meetha, where its sliced and fried and soaked in cream mixture keeping the slices intact, or as halwa where its sliced and fried but cooked with the cream/milk mixture (looks like the halwa I have made today ) and also where the stale bread is made into fine crumbs by grinding in food processor and then made just like Sooji ka Halwa, except you use powdered bread instead of sooji.

To make a good halwa with bread, its important that the bread is somewhat stale. Back at home if we did not have stale bread, I remember my mom would let the fresh bread dry out on old newspapers.

So I thought Ciabatta would be perfect for the halwa, as it really dries out when stale. I pounded the bread using a pestle, but you dont have too, you can grind it in food processor, it tastes even better that way I think.

Ingredients:

1/2 C ghee

2 1/2 C coarse bread crumbs

1" cinnamon

1 1/2 C milk

3/4 C sugar

pinch saffron

1/2 tbsp. elaichi pdr/ cardamom pdr

1/4 C sliced almonds

1 1/2 tsp Kewda extract

Method:

Pound or chop stale Ciabatta into coarse crumbs.Heat ghee , add the cinnamon and bread crumbs and roast till golden.

Add milk, saffron, and cardamom pdr and cook till the milk is absorbed. Then add sugar and cook for few more minutes

Remove from heat add the Kewda extract and mix well.I like it best while its warm

Enjoy !

Tips:

Use the measurements of the ingredients as a guide, the quantity of ghee, milk and sugar will depend on how dry/stale the bread is.

P.S. Check out my other blog "the halal foodie " , subscribe and follow to keep in touch. I look forward to see you there :)

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.

Veggie Pesto Pizza n Homemade Strawberry Mint Pops

Pizza is my go to recipe for quick fix dinners. Its even quicker and less messier if you have the store bought pizza crust waiting to be baked in your refrigerator. What I like about a pizza is, just like biryani, you can never go wrong ! Atleast thats how kind it has been to me :) I have yet to come across a well made pizza that I did not like. 

If you know someone who just wont eat their veggies, this is the way to go, hide it all under a layer of cheese :) 

What I did to make this pizza is drizzle some extra virgin olive oil on a store bought pizza dough, spread some home made pesto (for recipe click here and scroll down) layered it with sliced tomatoes, red onions, baby spinach lots of mozarella and Monterey Jack, some salt n pepper and some dried oregano. Baked it using manufacturers instructions and Voila ! Dinner is served.

Its best if you make your own Pizza dough or buy some from your local pizzeria. A packet of this in your fridge will always come handy to rescue dinner.

Its been a mix of crazy hot and crazy pleasant days here, and to beat one such crazy hot day heat I made these...Strawberry and Mint pops. Super easy and super delicious. Just blend some strawberries (fresh or frozen) with a bunch of mint leaves , add sugar if and as much needed to suit your taste, a dash of lemon juice just to brighten things up and freeze them in ice pop moulds. Enjoy it on a hot summer day, you will never go back to store bought ice pops ever again !

Update:

These quick and easy recipes have been sent off to Ayeshas Anyone Can Cook Event

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!

Basic Chicken Stock

It happens to me all the time ...Taking a break from blogging is easy, getting back into the blogging mode really takes time. Before every vacation I feel excited about all the possible things I would like to blog about after coming back, till date it has never happened :) 

Nevertheless, while I am still struggling to get out of this, I thought may be I could share a simple recipe of how I make my basic chicken stock, may be some soup made using that would do the trick, may be I could post about the soup as a follow up. Well, though the later two still seem distant, let me tell you how I make the stock...

Where I live (in the suburbs)  we don't find halal chicken stocks at the stores (I mean the desi grocery where we buy our halal meat), so I usually make my own. I think a good stock can add loads of flavour to any thing you make out of it  and it sure is a very good thing to have in your pantry / fridge.  

Tender stalks of cilantro



I take 1 cup uncooked bones of chicken, its OK if they have some meat on it, you could shred it and use it in your sandwiches or soups. Add 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp. whole black peppercorns,  one small onion chopped, 2-3 green cardamoms, 1/2 " stick of cinnamon, 1/2 tsp cloves, 3 and half cups of water and cook on high uncovered for a few mins. Chop off the tender stalks of a small bunch of cilantro/coriander and add it to the stock. Season it with salt and let it cook until it reduces to half or a little over half. Your Chicken stock is ready to use. 

To store, let it cool and then store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 15 days. You can also freeze it in ice trays and store it for up to a month. I don't keep it that long and use it within a week in all possible ways, soups, rice, dal, to knead parathas,  curries, etc... etc. 

The recipe is pretty simple, I don't add the veggies or spices or even oil, which makes it very versatile and pretty basic, hence the name. 

By the way, Ramadan was the best part of the year as always and I thank you all for your Eid wishes. 

See you soon !

Update:

I am trying to catch up with all the new visitors to my blog, for those who did care to comment I add you to my Fellow Bloggers List. If you don't see your name in the list, plz, plz, plz let me know. 

Thanks!

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

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 !