""Black-Eyed Beans""

                                            

I usually make this dish with the dry beans, which i soak over-night, and then let them cook on a low heat in a normal pot NO cooker!
 
This time I was lazy, Hubby has his holidays so we just chill and eat whatever is there  : ) Anyway I had the canned beans at home and we were hungry so I made this in like 20 minutes, so eeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaasy : )
 
I am sure you all know how to make this but still may be some don’t  so this is for them : ) But either way I make it the same way : )

                                                   

2 cans of boiled black-eyed beans (a’350 gram)

2 onions (fine sliced)
1tsp of mixed whole spices (black pepper, cloves, big cardamom)
2 tomatoes (small cubes)
1tbs GG paste (ginger/garlic)
2tsp plain yoghurt
¾ tsp salt
¾ red chili powder
½ tsp cumin powder
Pinch of turmeric (haldi)
¼ cup oil
Fresh chopped coriander and green chilies
Garam masala to sprinkle on the top as ready

*heat oil in the pot and add the whole spices and fry till it gives a nice aroma
*add the onions and fry them till light brownish
*mix all dry spices, gg paste and diced tomatoes in the yoghurt and pour all into the pot
*stir and twist and turn so the spices form a thick gravy
*drain both bean cans and wash it 1-2 times as they are salted
 (As we add our own spices so we wash away the salt water completely)
*now add the beans to the gravy and DON’T mix too strongly as all will get    mushy coz these beans are already full boiled and are soft.
*just move the spoon gently all around, you will see the oil showing up and the bean absorbing the gravy too, so it’s done
*sprinkle fresh chopped coriander and chopped chilies
*sprinkle the garam masala before you dish out
 
* I don’t add coriander powder as this makes the gravy darker and a bit brownish :/

                                       

Brownie Muffins and Balls

Well the initially plan was of making only brownies but i ended up in making the balls as a result of a blunder lol.. But they tasted really good :)

                                             

I actually just wanted to try my new cup-cake tray which i got on my birthday from my dear friend Suzie..It is a lovely flower designed one and I was so excited to see the sweet small flowers, had thought of icing them too and then showing you all : )

So I used my other brownie recipe which is far more sticky than the brownie cake as it has honey in it and I use less sugar here so the main sweetness is of the honey and nutella..
So here let’s make the Muffins first then the Balls: )

                                    
100gram butter
75 gram castor sugar
100gram dark chocolate bar (70% best)
50gram honey
2tbs Nutella
1tsp Vanilla essence
2tbs heaped dark choco powder
100gram plain flour
1tsp baking powder
Nuts for deco of ur choice I took Almonds

*melt the choco bar, mix it with butter and sugar in a bowl and beat it till smooth
*sieve the baking powder, flour and the choco powder together and add into the bowl, beat into a creamy batter
*now add the honey and nutella and just mix with spoon don’t beat as the stickiness will become liquid and we need that chewy effect : )
*sprinkle the vanilla essence and pour in the cups placed in a muffin tray
*this gives them a good even shape all around,press the almonds on the top
*bake it in a preheated oven on 180°c for 25-30 minutes
* the good part is that you can immediately take them out from the tray : )

So now to my Brownies Balls:

I filled the cuppies tray with this same batter made another batch for it and filled with love, baked it as directed above, they seemed lovely fluffy and dark brown… So now I had to take them out and usually they leave the tin/form automatically so I thought its easy peasy.. BUT tough luck, they all stuck hard to the form, I had to scrape out all with my silicon spatula, ahh my flowery cup-cakes heaped up in crumble : (

Well I switched on my master mind, crumbled all the 24 and mixed in more honey and nutella in it sprinkled some milk to make it smooth, greased my palms and made these balls Viola!!! I kept them in the fridge for some time and rolled them in castor sugar and coconut .These were not like the soft cake pops we see and eat, they were more like chocolate, firm coz of honey but really yummy and a calorie bomb lolzzzz

My family liked the Balls more than my Muffins : )

                                      
The reason why I had this blunder was my own fault; I thought the tray is new so I just greased it very slightly THAT was wrong!! It was a non stick tray and when they say DO NOT grease we SHOULD not grease it, as after the batter has been baked, we must take it out immediately from the form by turning the tray upside down and we don’t grease it at all, because after being a bit cold the sugar gets hard and sticks to the greased surface which hardens it even more!

So I’ve learned my lesson and this is how we get more wiser….. learn by doing :I)

  

*"* PANJEERI *"*

This nutritious mix is considered "the most essential" food while new mom is recovering after the birth and needs to regain her strength and energy for her new born baby. Also favorable to cure back aches and a tasty snack to warm up in Winter!!!

 A very popular grandma recommended recipe among Indian and Pakistani families.

There may be many many different ways to make it, this here is the one I have been eating as a child made from teh hands of Mom darling as she used to make it every winter and we all used to have it with our 4°clock tea-time!

 

Why 4°clock? because it was the time of dear Dad to be back home from his work and we always looked forward to have tea together with any one main snack and panjeeri as the closing snack with tea, we used to sit and discuss how each of us spent the day, in school, at work or at home.. then we used to discuss the new headings and happening from the News of the Day... those were times i cud give away my life to have it back.....

Nothing like being with your Family!!! 

                                  ( The only picture i took :)

So here’s how we make it:

800gr coarse

Sooji (semolina)

11/2  cup  Ghee(clarified butter) or more accordingly

100 gr Coconut (dry sliced)

150 gr Pistachio nuts(sweet)

300 gr Almonds(unpeeled)

50 gr Munakka ( big raisins)

700 gr Sugar (according to taste, usually people like it sweet :)

10-12 Green Cardamom seeds,

50gr Gond Katira ( edible gum)

20gr Kamar-kas ( not more as it has a bitter taste,dried and powdered stalks of the Hibiscus plant)

50gr Char Maghaz (this is a classic mix of pumpkin, watermelon seeds)

150 gr Makhanay (Fox nuts)

50 gr  Raisins

½ cup Ghee for frying

 

-Heat the ghee in a broad pan, and fry all the nuts one after the other accept the kamarkas; ( that comes in the end as it will turn the ghee dark brown)

on a light heat until slight golden colour.

-Spread them separately on a kitchen towel or paper till all the ghee is absorbed

-Now crush all the nuts coarsely, best is in a mortar as it tastes best when it is coarse

- Now fry the kamarkas and lay seperate

-Now take a broad non-stick pot or wok and heat the ghee

- Put in the green cardamom seeds and let them splutter

-Fold in the sooji and mix all well

-Keep mixing till the sooji turns light pink

-Now add in all crushed nuts one by one

-Keep mixing but on the same low heat as the sooji should not burn

-This requires too mcuh strength may be a male hand J

-Now fold in the sugar and mix all well, the sugar should stay a bit crunchy!!!

-In the end add in the Kamarkas and mix again

Let the Panjeeri cool completely and then preserve in an air-tight box

It stays fresh upto 2 months if no wet spoon used in it! 

So be careful!!!

*Falscher Hase*....Minced Meat/Veg Meat loaf

 

This is a very famous German Hearty Meal named "Falscher Hase"
There are many many stories and clearances about how it got this name, many are so weird I’d better not mention :/

If translated it means „the Fake Rabbit"

 
Stories tell that in the early days around Easter it was a custom to bake a Rabbit, it was known as a great feast. Many families who couldn’t afford to buy and bake that economically, they used to buy low-priced meat and made mince out of it and bought different vegetable and tuck all in the piece of meat and shaped it like a rabbit’s back and baked that, and so the dish came to this name as” Fake Rabbit” The egg variation came quite later
 
I just named it the Meat Loaf but originally the idea is from the above given story : )
 
It’s a very tasty dish specially after being baked with eggs it’s such a delight!

600 gr Minced meat (lamb)
1 roll bun from the previous day (soaked and drained)
2 baby cornichons( Chopped like relish)
2 small onions (finely chopped)
½ cup parsley (fine chopped)
1 red paprika (fine sliced)
2 tbp lemon juice
25 gr butter
1 egg
1/8 l meat broth (around 6 tblsp)
1/8 l cream ( around 6 tblsp)
1 tbs cream Fraiche
1 tbs paprika powder
(sweet bell pepper powder)
1 ½ tsp salt ( or to taste)
½ tsp black pepper from the mill
½ tsp cayenne pepper
3 hard boiled eggs



-soak roll bun in hot water
-squeeze/drain
-chop onion finely
-heat butter and fry onion till transparent
-Chop paprika, parsley and cornichon and knead all well into the minced meat
-beat an egg, pour over and knead well, sprinkle the lemon juice too

-lay a thick layer of minced in a rectangular baking form
-place the hard boiled eggs in a row
-cover it up firmly with the rest minced meat and press with wet palms
-bake the loaf on a preheated oven on 180° for around 30 mins
-make a sauce of cream Fraiche,broth, and cream
-after nearly 10-15 mins pour this sauce on the loaf and let bake again
-the loaf will leave lots of liquid, no worries , as the loaf is done then
bake with the grill on so this will evaporate the liquid.
-Let the loaf a time to rest so when cut in slices it won’t break

Enjoy it with Roll buns, baguettes or then plain Rice as side dish.
Simple salty boiled potatoes are the perfect combo with it!!!

*Pancake Turnover with different fillings*

                     *With Vanilla Ice-Cream & Currant Sauce & Fresh Fruit*

                                    *With Nutella & Strawberry Jam*

 

These are two different pics made on two different days but I thought to put them together as I used different fillings in it.

It’s divine with fresh fruits and Ice-cream as the combination of Hot pancake and Chilled ice-cream is heaven : )

 

I think I haven’t met anyone yet who did not like to have these pancakes : ) It’s the most beloved call it snack, dessert, or breakfast goodie among all!

No words to describe the beauty and taste of these dainties : )

200gr plain flour
4 eggs
350 ml milk
pinch of salt
25gr vanilla sugar
butter as needed
castor sugar for deco

                                      

-Sieve the flour twice into a big bowl, and mix it with the milk
-beat the eggs fluffy add in the sugar and salt
-mix all together and make a creamy batter

-Heat (each time)1 table spoon butter in the pancake frying pan on a medium heat
-spread 2 scoops of batter and bake till light brown
-turn over and bake the other side
-then pancake should not be too thick nor to thin
-take it out on a big flat plate and drop 1 big scoop of vanilla ice cream, red currant sauce, chocolate sauce or jam and turn over
-decorate with the sauce/jam and your favorite fruits and sprinkle some castor sugar before serving
Tastes divine while still warm; coz the melting ice cream give it a heavenly taste!!!!
Enjoy!!!

Pancakes are usually made on an iron sill here so we say "we bake it" i was a bit confused how to explain you people bake or fry :-) but as using a frying pan i think "fry" is better; but it is actually not fried in the sense of frying.... ehhhhhhh.......:-D

*Porridge Oats/Flour Roti*

                                                                          

They say Necessity is the mother of invention: ) so I experienced this long time ago and now use this each time I am in need of it : )

 We all know that the Atta is actually made of wheat and oats too, but we have always seen and bought the readymade atta (chapatti wheat flour) I usually buy 2-3 sacks and keep them in the basement and fill the jars when empty.

 
Well I had this sack in the basement and hubby was at work so I thought ok why not make it this way: ) It’s easy and specially roti made out of it is so very soft and so very different, you can only feel it once you eat this.

You need just 5 things for it and some time , so here we go;

 
500grams porridge oats (here its one pack of it)
300grams plain flour (maida)
1 tbs salt
50ml oil
1glass water and more accordingly

                                                                                  

*take a broad bowl; pour the water, mix in salt and oil

*now add in the oats, mix with a spoon and leave it
*in around 15 -20 minutes you will see the oats change into a sticky like dough exactly like the whole wheat atta
*now you start adding the plain flour into it and keep mixing with your hands
*I can’t give you an exact measurement of the water as you have to feel it yourself as you mix in, it will slowly start turning firm and taking a shape of the atta dough.
*it is made soft and not too hard, as you feel it is done just knead it with greasy hands.
* I dint keep it for long before kneading it (mukki lagana) as it is so soft and silky already : )
*just let it rest half an hour before u makes roti as then it’s easy to handle
*This roti is very soft, and is cooked exactly like we make with the readymade atta, you can see it fluffs up very beautifully , I’ll upload one in my Blog I forgot to insert the pic here : )
*So that’s it! If no atta at home no problem always keep one or two packs of oats at home , they stay good over 2 years so you have it at hand when you need it : )
 
*PS: The ratio fo the flour(maida) can be more or less , if you feel the dough is runny you can add more flour no problem at all, main thing you can make balls out of it , I am not sure if I also added more flour to it : ) In the end it was silky and soft and Super!!!
 
Do give it a try and you will love it!!!

**Cheesy Cream Cake**

                                        

Ok first of all i must mention this here, i am still learning how to get along with my loving Blog,so while clicking here and there i discovered that as soon as you klick on the pic, you can see the enlarged image WOW that's so kooooool :D

I was trying to upload larger images but some how it showed this size so i was like ....ok... at least i can upload my pics na :) But its more fun to see the original size now, wooo I am happy  :)

Okay now a new change: The blog as unabled us to enlarge the pic as soon as we upload so thats really cool, i cna move around and chose the size i want :)

So now to my  Delicious Cake :

I always plan not to make any cream cakes and end up in baking them again : ) not that I don’t like them, its only that my weighing machine is not so happy at it  lol….

 
My friend was coming over so I thought something different as a dessert not the typical Desi meetha, so this was the quickest and easiest I could make. It was really very nicely made and came out so smooth, but then we sat and enjoyed our coffee and the poor creamy cake sat with us amongst my candles…..lol so you see the melted cream :-/

But well we had to gobble up all either way so we chilled and kept enjoying it in small portions and pieces :)

I make it with the crushed Digestive too but I like the short crust pastry better, we just need the baking time and it’s actually very quick…

Here’s what you do first, make the cake base :

 
75 gr Soft Butter
125gr AP Flour (plain all purpose)
75gr Castor Sugar
Dash of Salt
¼ tsp Baking powder

 

-Mix all the above ingredients into soft dough

-Spread it evenly in a round cake form ( I took 26cm)
-Bake in 180°C preheated for 12-15 minutes till nice light golden
-let it cool on a wire frame
-(took an hour nearly as it has to be complete cool for the cream

Cream Cheese for the Filling:

200gr cream spread (Philadelphia)
250 gr Cheese curd (Quark)
100 gr Cheese cream spread ( I took Kiri Kiri)
100 gr castor sugar
2-4 tbs milk
1 sachet Vanilla (sugar optional)
2 sachets of stabilizer for whipping cream

 -Beat all these creams together in a firm structure
-The stabilizer helps the cream to stay stiff
-Pour this mixture on the top of the base
-You can top with any fruit of your choice, I loved strawberries as we have now started the season and they are so juicy and sweet  : )
-Cover tight with a cling and let it chill at least 3-4 hours in fridge -I left it over night and it was quite firm and ultra yummmmmy : )

 Note:
*I cud have added gelatin powder or agar agar in the cream to make it more stiff, but using the stabilizer is actually enough..

 *My  cake base was a bit hard, coz I left it in the fridge over night and obviously the butter was cold and firm then na : ) so if you keep it over night and its hard no worries it softens in 10-15 minutes if you take it out before serving…

*Carrot/Garlic Dip*

A very different taste from the usual raita we make.
This Dip is served with baguettes, onion bread, sausages, and all sort of rice dishes too. It gives a very piquant taste, sizzles on the tongue.

Not every ones fav specially who are too garlic conscious : ) I love garlic and use it very frequently in all my dishes and specially the fresh grated one has a super aroma and taste …

We can use this dip as a side dish along with Shammi kababs to, I make it do that each time I make any sort of kababs.

So here is what you need for it:

200gr yoghurt (1 ¾ cup)
1 big carrot
2 small cloves of garlic (2 kaliyaan)
salt to taste
1 tsp black-pepper from the mill
½ tsp sugar

you have to prepare this dip at least half an hour before to get the taste,
as garlic needs to leave its juices

-beat yoghurt creamy, mix in sugar
-grate the garlic directly in the yoghurt
-grate the carrot and mix in the yoghurt
-season with salt and pepper
-cover it and let rest
-you can add milk if u like to have it a bit runny
-i sprinkled dry peppermint on it too

**Chello Kabab**

Chello Kababs are a Persian traditional specialty. They are served with rice and naan too, more of a flat bread type Khubuz. As we travelled through Iran I remember we had them every other day and were happy with the thought to eat it again and again : )

A scoop of butter on the top makes it heavenly


I have made Cheelos with turkey and chicken but this time i just used lamb minced meat, taste divine!!!!

500 gr minced meat
1tblsp rice flour
4tblsp lemon juice
1 tbs coriander powder
2tblsp crushed brown onion
1 shredded white bread slice
1 tsp salt (more to taste)
1tblsp red chili flakes
1tblsp crushed fresh garlic
Black pepper from the pepper mill
(3-4 twists)
2 tbs oil
1 level tsp garam masala(all spices powder)
2 green chili paste
1tsp bhoona zeera powder(roasted cumin powder)
½ bunch fresh coriander
I took the crispy brown onion and crushed to 2 tbs spoons.
Spares u the time to fry and drain and then grind :)

Grind the meat separately.
Shred the slice.
Grind the green chili paste.
Crate the garlic.
Mix all well with the oil, this keeps it soft and avoids it to dry after frying.

You can add 2 tbs of bread crumbs as well if u have no rice flour as the effect is same to keep them fluffy.
Make any shape you want to, rounds or then flat seekhi the original ones.
Shallow fry on a medium heat.

I sprinkled some more oil after frying to keep them moist

I also add a scoop of butter directly on them before serving while its still hot , the melted butter gives it THE touch and more richness!!!

A very tasty combi with naan or Matar(peas) Pilau!!!!

Creamy Sheer Khoorma

This sweet dish is such a delight and a must on Eid no doubt, but I make it every now and then too. I love its creamy thick structure : )

Another dish full with childhood memories, the big silver pot, the tray with pitted dates, the bowl with sliced nuts…. And Mom full ready to start cooking it..

I know I was crazy for the dates and used to pick them extra to fill my bowl : )

Those were the days……

Here’s what you need to do :

1 pack of already fried Sewiyyan (vermicelli they are a bit brownish)

7-8 seeds of small cardamom

1 tbs of raisins

4-5 full cooking spoon of ghee/butter

 

1 ½ L full fat milk

250 ml pack of cream

½ tsp cardamom powder

2-3 full cooking spoon of sugar and adjust to taste

 A good amount of nuts: (around ½ cup together)

Dry Coconut flakes

Boiled and peeled Almond halves

Pistachios fine sliced

8-10 soft dates (left from Ramadan : )

I never use the dry choharay)

4-5 strands of saffron

1tbs kewra essence

 

Heat a heavy bottomed pot with ghee/butter; don’t let it burn just slightly melt

          Add in the cardamom seeds and let splutter

          Add the raisins and fry till they fluff up

          Now break in the vermicelli not too small just crush slightly half in the middle

         Stir evenly so none of it is dark brown just vey slightly as they are already a bit       fried

        Now pour the fresh milk and add all the nuts too, let it boil once then add the dates in it and pour the cream slowly and keep mixing

Add the sugar, taste and adjust accordingly, add the cardamom powder too

Now just cover the lid half and let it cook

The taste comes out when it is cooked on slow heat at least an hour

The vermicelli will increase in volume and the milk will get thicker so watch out hat it does not burn

The dates will get softer and thicker yummz this gives a divine taste in sheer khoorma : )

As you see the butter laying on the top slowly means it has been cooked well

      Drop in the Kewra essence and mix smoothly

Take the pot away from the stove and set aside and sprinkle the saffron strands and cover the lid

The saffron leaves its light pale yellow color and gives a heavenly aroma

Your sheer khoorma is ready to serve

 

Some like it cold but I love it while its still warm and the soft dates in it are a delight: ) Its always a big demand apart from  Eid : )