Sesame and Peanut Praline (chikki)

 

Sankranti was very busy and beautiful for us. My mom and mom-in-law were with us making lots of traditional Sankranti recipes:) I never knew Chikki was such an easy recipe to make. I wanted to try my hands on almond, cashew nuts, pistachios, melon seeds and many more!

 

 

 

Ingredients

 

1 cup sugar

1 cup roasted peanuts or roasted sesame seeds (any nuts desired) 

1 tsp ghee

 

Preparation

Heat a pan and add 1 tsp ghee, to this add sugar. Keep tossing the sugar on medium heat.



 The sugar melts this way as shown in the picture and changes colour.

 As soon as all the sugar melts add the crushed peanuts. Peanuts should be slightly crushed to give thick texture. Mix quickly turn off the heat immediately  and transfer it to a clean surface in the kitchen which is slightly oiled. The whole process should be done very quickly.

After pouring the mixture on a flat surface quickly roll it with rolling pin to make it flat.

 

Cut them into pieces and let it cool.

 After it cools down break them to pieces and enjoy.

Kids will enjoy the home made Chikkis!

Camp Fire Mini Cake made with Choco Sticks

This is what I tried to create with the choco sticks:) Camp Fire Mini Cakes!

 

 

 I got these Gone Mad Choco Sticks for Product review and frankly speaking my kids did the review of these chololate filled goodies! The verdict is YUMMMMMYYYY.....

The wrapper of the choco sticks is designed by school kids very beautifully. The wafer is crunchy and the chocolate filled inside is very moist.

 



Diya enjoying chocosticks!

About Gone Mad Choco sticks!

 

Ingredients

Mini chocolate Cookies (I used Lotte choco pie) Small chocolate muffins or cupcakes can be used.

Choco Sticks Cut into desired length

Candies of red, yellow, orange colours

 

Preparation

Break all the candies into pieces with hammer after putting them into a ziploc plastic bag.



 

 

Place them in a foil and bake it for 5 minutes!

 

After the melted candies cool down break them into pieces.



 

Assemble them like a camp fire on the chocolate cake or cookie! It makes a great treat for the kids parties and birthdays



 



DISCLAIMER: This is not a paid review. The opinions and thoughts mentioned in the post are purely mine and done by tasting the sample sent by Garuda Foods.

Happy Makar Sankranti Wishes!

Pongal and Boorelu

Lilva Thuvar Aloo Subzi (pigeon pea gravy)

 

Ingredients
1 cup fresh green Thuvar
1 cup baby potatoes
1 large onion
2 medium tomatoes
2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
2 large green chillies (slit)
2 tbsp Poppy seeds
1 tbsp fresh methi leaves
2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves to garnish
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp kitchen king masala
1 tsp Garam masala
1 tsp cumin seeds
a dash of asafoetida
2 tbsp oil
salt to taste

Preparation

Soak poppy seeds in 2-3 tbsp water for 1 hour. Grind poppy and tomato to make paste. Pressure cook Green thuvar and potatoes separately in cooker for 2 whistles. In a pan add 2 tbsp oil and add the baby potatoes after removing the skin. Fry them till golden and crisp along with few methi leaves. Set aside. Heat a pan, add oil, cumin seeds and let it splutter. To this add asafoetida, onions, ginger-garlic paste, chillies and saute. When onion turns slight golden add the tomato- poppy paste, all the masalas except garam masala. Let it cook on medium till the mixture leaves oil. Add the thuvar and bring to boil. Simmer the heat,  add potatoes, Garam masala, mix and turn off the heat. Garnish and serve hot with Rotis!

Tangy plantain curry/ Aratikaya Kura

This recipe is my mom-in-laws speciality. It tastes very good with rice and rotis!

Ingredients
4 medium size Plantains cut in cubes
2-3 medium tomatoes pureed
2 tsp tamarind pulp (optional if you do not prefer lot of tangy flavour)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp chilli powder
salt to taste

For Tempering
2-3 red chillies
sprig of curry leaves
1/3 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp split urad dal
1/2 tsp chana dal
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
a dash of asafoetida
4 tbsp oil

Preparation

Heat a wide pan with 2 tbsp oil, add the plantain cubes and fry on high heat for 2 minutes.
To the Plantain add salt, turmeric, chilli powder, tomato puree, mix well and cover with lid. Cook on medium to low heat till the plantain absorbs all the moisture and becomes soft. This might take about 5- 7 minutes.
Open the lid, add tamarind pulp and cook on  high heat for 2 minutes till crisp. Turn off the heat.
For tempering in a pan heat 2 tbsp oil, mustard seeds. After they splutter, add urad, chana, fenugreek , asafoetida, red chillies and curry leaves in the given order! Add this tempering to the plantain and toss. Serve warm with rice or roti!

Super Chef Aditya Bal and Creamy Corn Gravy

NDTV Good Times took the food celebrations to its viewers in more ways than one. This year, as a lead up to the main events, They invited foodizens for interesting “Meet the Super Chef” sessions,held in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. In these sessions,Super Chefs – Vicky Ratnani, Ritu Dalmia and Aditya Bal shared some of their signature recipes.
I along with fellow bloggers was invited to attend live demonstrations by Chef Aditya Bal. He prepared the following recipes:
Dilli Ki Fried Aloo Chaat
Bengali Doi Maach
Zaffrani Pulao

Check out the 3rd NDTV Food Awards 2012 winners !

He hosts a show CHAKH LE - INDIA where Aditya hits the road less travelled into the unexplored, and forgotten pockets of India in his hunt for authentic flavours.

About The Chef in his words- "After a successful career as a model spanning 8 years and traveling far and wide, I stumbled across my love of cooking by chance a few years later. A self taught chef with 2 years of experience working at a few select restaurants and honing my skills in continental cuisine and the intricacies of the business. I love travel, adventure and of course, food. I am obsessive when it comes to cooking in all its forms. Love baking and slow cooking as well. It’s my passion and mission in life to create fine food and I promise a great dining experience when I open my own restaurant. I’m always on the look out for new ideas and feel the culinary world is never ending. There’s so much more to see. "

Corn Gravy
I learnt this recipe from his TV show and it was a super hit!

Ingredients

1 corn cob
2-3 green chillies
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp chilli powder
1/3 dash of asafoetida mixed in 2 tsp water
2 tsp freshly chopped coriander leaves
salt to taste

Preparation

Grate the corn cob in a grater and you will get a thick corn paste called Mawa. Keep aside. Heat a pan with oil, add the mustard and cumin seed. Allow it to splutter. Now add all the green chillies allow them to get fried a little and add spice powders. Keep the heat on low flame. To this add asafoetida mixed with water. Now add the corn paste and salt. The gravy thickens fast so if required add 1/2 cup water to it. After the gravy comes to a boil, remove from heat, Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with rotis!!

BritanniaTreat Fruit Cream Biscuits

A lip smacking treat, Britannia Fruit Cream biscuits are deliciously flavored fruity and ice-creamy bikis. A delicious layer of ice- creamy fruit cream coupled with crispy, crunchy biscuits creates an exciting treat that promises to leave kids craving for more! Britannia Treat Fruit converts kid’s favorite ice-cream flavors - pineapple, mango, strawberry and orange, to the creamiest, softest and yummiest cream flavors packed in biscuits. The unique design of the biscuits gives a sneak peek into the delicious flavored cream, opening up a window to the ice-creamy world. Kids can now give into the temptation of having as many ice-creams as they want by gorging on Treat Fruit Cream’s lip-smacking cream biscuits. It is just what the kids ordered for – a yummy fun filled delicacy to give them more of things they love! Kids can now dive straight into the four awesome combos of fruit and ice-cream flavored cream biscuits and cherish the never-before-experience of enjoying mouthfuls of delight…all bundled into one explosive, eye-popping pack of Britannia Treat Fruit Cream!

About Treat: Since its launch in 2002, Treat has been one of the best loved brands by children all over India. They have always relished unravelling the irresistibly, delicious cream hidden inside each Treat biscuit – and this time they have unique fruit flavored creams to top it off!



When I got this Treat Fruit cream Biscuits , It was a true treat. The cream inside the biscuit was not dry but tasted fresh and creamy. I did not have enough biscuits to click pics:) Not only my kids but even elders in the family enjoyed the Treat:)

Party Ideas - It can be served during birthday parties instead of chips and fries! I created a center piece of these Biscuits with different flavours along with chocolates, cheese cubes, cherry tomatoes.
You can also use strawberries, blueberries, candies and many more for a party! Kids would love it!

Another Party idea is to make butterscotch or vanilla sauce. Kids would like to dip the biscuits in their favourite flavour and then use some colourful sprinkles, gems and chopped cherries to decorate them. They can do this before the party like a cooking session for the kids! This can be refrigerated before biting into crunchy goodness. serve these quick bites with banana smoothie to up the health quotient!!

Baked Mediterranean Vegetables - Chef's Signature recipe from Twenty.21

Baked Mediterranean vegetables with light tomato and cheese sauce- Mediterranean vegetables like olives, crougettes, peppers tossed in tomato sauce and topped with white sauce and aged cheddar cheese and gratinated in oven

Ingredients
For the Baked vegetables

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red capsicum, chopped
2 zucchinis, sliced
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 tbsp tomato pasta sauce
2 tbsp white sauce
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
¼ teaspoon salt
2 small aubergines, cut into 2.5cm chunks
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 teaspoons olive oil (extra)
50g vegetarian Parmesan, finely grated

For the White sauce
2 cups milk
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp vegetarian Cheddar, coarsely grated
1/2 tsp white pepper powder

To make the white sauce, melt butter in a heavy-bottomed pan and stir in the flour.Cook for four to six
minutes over low heat till fragrant. Whisk in the milk till smooth. Cook for 4-5 minutes, Stirring
continuously, till the sauce thickens.Add salt and white pepper powder and mix well. Add grated cheese
and mix well. You can cool and store this too.

Preparation

Heat oil in a saucepan and sauté onion, capsicum, eggplant and zucchini until soft. Add mushrooms and sauté for 1 minute. Stir through pasta sauce, basil and salt. Heat through. Add 2-3 tbsp white sauce. Pour mixture into a oven proof casserole dish.  
Sprinkle it all with the Parmesan cheese and bake in a moderate oven, 180ºC, for 30 minutes or until
golden and bubbling. Serve with garlic bread and salad.

I was invited to review "Twenty.21" which is famous for its European and Mediterranean cuisine!

As the world grows more digital, borders blend, horizons flatten, degrees of separation become
tighter and we all see ourselves in a global melting pot. With experiences from the Spanish coast to
the Mediterranean seas, the European continent has some wonderful culinary traditions to offer our
palate. Twenty.21 brings you a veritable medley of European cuisine that transcends borders – all
thanks to the immense love that we have for continental food today.
From the smoked ham, to the use of organic vegetables, to stuffed poultry, to melting mozzarella
pizzas and finally to mouth-watering fresh pasta, They offer everything your taste buds could
desire.

Parveen Kumar - Executive Chef - Continental Kitchen (Twenty.21)

Chef Parveen Kumar started his promising career with the Oberoi Group of Hotels. His career
spanned 4 years of working under the supervision of a Michelin-star awarded English chef.
He then moved to London to work as sous chef in a top seafood restaurant within Sheraton Hotel.
He also worked with the legendary Chef Pascal Proyart – listed as one of the top 10 chefs in the U.K.
– specializing in contemporary French fine dining and seafood. Chef Parveen then tried his hand at
molecular gastronomy as well before finally zeroing in on his skills as a continental food specialist.
He is truly the master of his culinary domain.

These are some of his other Signature recipes which he had prepared for us with lots of care!

Watermelon and feta cheese salad-Chilled slices of watermelon layered with feta cheese, mint and extra virgin olive oil and finished with balsamic treacle

Apple and beetroot salad with rucola and goat cheese-Roasted beetroot, green apple and goat cheese tossed in redwine vinegar dressing and topped with rocket lettuce and balsamic reduction

Roasted pumpkin and rosemary soup with crème fraiche-Soup made with oven roasted pumpkin and rosemary and finished with sour cream. This soup have very little amount of cream unlike other soup.

 

 

Cream of broccoli with toasted almond-Fresh broccoli soup has a good flavor of broccoli which is well complimented with the nutty flavor of almonds

 

Assorted bread basket

Starters I picked up from the Buffet table for my daughter- Corn fritters!

Mushroom and Risotto croquettes with creamy tomato dip

Mushroom duxelle with garlic bread-Chopped mushroom cooked in white wine, cream and Parmesan cheese served with garlic bread

Med platter veg-Assorted dips from Mediterranean region (hummus, babaganoush, tomato onion relish, guacamole) served with freshly made pita bread

Gnocchi with sun dried tomatoes, pesto and cream-Freshly made potato gnocchi tossed in pesto sauce, sun dried tomatoes and olives

Baked cheese cake with fig compote-Cream cheese cake baked in oven and flavoured with lemon zest (slightly) and served with fig compote

Tiramisu-Classic Italian dessert which is layered with mascarpone cheese, khalua and coffee.

 

These desserts are served during lunch buffet !

Treat to the eyes:)

 

This one is for me and my daughter:) 

The Decor and Ambiance is kept simple and elegant.

Twenty.21 has Awesome food  which one should definitely try. The prices are very reasonable and the best part is the food right from breads, salads, to soups everything is served very fresh. Being a vegan I had many choices and did not feel like I was compromising.  For more details on the restaurant visit http://www.orangetomato.net/