Apple Crumble Pie-Short Cut to Sweetness!

This is a shortcut recipe for the original Apply Crumble Pie. This one also uses up all those leftover biscuits that you have.

Ingredients:

• Apples- 1-2Nos
• Biscuits 15-20nos- Preferably Marie biscuits and a few glucose biscuits are ok.
• 1-2 tbsp honey 
• 2-3 tsp of sugar
• Cinnamon(dalchini) powder -2 pinches
• Butter(salted/unsalted) -2 tbsp or alternatively you can use ghee

Procedure :

• Peel and cut the Apples into small cubes
• Take a baking dish or microwave dish and spread some butter/ghee into it 
• Crumble the biscuits into small pieces (now you see where it gets the name)
• Put the apples pieces at the bottom of the dish 
• Now mix the crumbled biscuits, honey, sugar, cinnamon powder and the remaining butter/ghee
• Put this over the Apples and microwave for about 10-15 mins
• And voila, you have hot scrumptious Apple Crumble Pie that literally crumbles and melts in your mouth.

Spice it up!

Nice Get-together planned. You plan to watch the game with your gang. You got the drinks, chips, munchies etc etc. But theres something missing! A dip to go with the chip. Heres a quick Pudina Dip to add an exciting spice. It goes wonderfully with anything. You can even use it on your boring toast, as chutney for lunch or as a ready made gravy paste.

Ingredients:

• Pudina (Mint Leaves) - half a bunch 
• Coriander - 1 cup 
• Green Chillies -6-10 nos (depending on how spicy you want it)
• Sugar - 1tsp
• Jeera (Cumin Seed ) Powder -1tsp
• Garlic  - 10-12 petals peeled
• Dhania (Coriander Seeds) powder
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Salt to taste

Procedure

• Separate the pudina leaves from the stalks. (Tip :If you are fond of gardening, you can plant the stalks. Put them in the soil lengthwise.  Soon you will have homegrown Pudina:) )
• Wash the Leaves and the coriander 
• Cut the dates off the green chillies. The number of chillies you use depends on how spicy you want it. 6 chillies-mild, 8- medium and 10 -spicy
• Put the pudina, coriander, lime juice, garlic, green chillies, sugar, salt, jeera powder, dhania powder in a mixer(the one you use to make paste) and grind it to a fine paste
• Serve Chilled

A New Way to Make Good 'Ol Maggie

Well first of all before you get all riled up, I absolutely love Maggie Noodles the way they are! Absolutely love them. But, just ever so once in a while, I wish the reliable taste would be a bit different. Not that theres anything wrong with it the way it is, but just a tad bit different. Well heres a way to enhance, and i mean enhance, NOT change the way Maggie tastes...:)
Ingredients :

• 1 pack Maggie noodles (any flavor will do, I prefer Masala)
• Amul Butter - 2 tsp
• 1 onion chopped in long thin slices
• Coriander finely chopped
• Pepper - 2 pinches
• 1 slice Cheese (optional)

Procedure (Serves 1 person) :

• Boil the noodles as you normally would with the taste maker(for the novice maggie cooks, refer the instructions on the packet)
• While its boiling, add the coriander and pepper to the noodles and stop boiling after the water has reduced to half. Leave some water in with the noodles
• In a pan, heat the butter and add the onions. Fry them till they are Golden brown
• Add the boiled noodles to that and simmer on low flame with a lid on for like 2 minutes
• Garnish with coriander and the slice of cheese
• Serve steaming hot with tomato ketchup

Chicken Biryani

Continuing with the Chicken Recipes. This is a yummy dish for any occasion.

Ingredients :

Chicken - 1kg
Basmati Rice - 3-4 katoris
Dahi (curds) - 200gm
Garlic - 1no crushed to a paste
Dhania Powder(Coriander seed powder) - 4tsp
Onion - 3nos, medium sized
Star Aniseed -3-4nos
Jeera Powder (Cumin Seed Powder) - 2 tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 3-4 tsp
Haldi(Turmeric Powder) -2-3tsp
Lemons-1-2nos
Oil - 3tbsp
Coriander - Finely chopped to garnish
Salt to taste
Ghee - 4-5 tsp

Procedure :

• Boil the rice with a tsp of salt and keep aside
• Make smallcuts on the chicken with a knife and apply haldi powder, juice of 1 lemon and keep aside
• Mix the Garlic paste, dhania powder, chilli powder, dahi, jeera powder, little bit of coriander and salt 
• Marinate the chicken in the above paste for 20-30 mins
• Heat 2tbsp oil in a pan/container, preferably a large one(pressure cooker/cook-n-server)
• Add the  paste of 1 onion to it and fry till golden brown.
• Add the star aniseed, cloves and cardamom to the fried onion
• Add the chicken and cook for 20 mins
• Next add the rice on top of the chicken, spread the ghee on the rice and simmer for about 20 mins with the lid on. Note: Do not mix or stir the rice
• Heat 1 tbsp oil in another pan and add the onions, cut into thin long slices, and fry till golden brown to brown
• Garnish the biryani with coriander and fried onion slices/rings and server hot

Chicken Curry

Chicken Curry!:)

Finally a recipe for Chicken for all the chicken fans! :)

What you need :

• 1kg Chicken
• Curds - 200 gm
• Dhania Powder (Coriander Seed Powder) - 4 tsps
• Garlic - 1 entire no, peeled
• Star Aniseed - 2 nos
• Badi Elaichi(Big Cardamom ) - 2 nos 
• Lavang (cloves) - 3-4 nos
  
• Red Chilli Powder - 3-4 tsp
• Haldi (Turmeric Powder) -2 tsp
• Onion - 1 no finely chopped or ground to a paste
• Coriander - 1/2 a bunch
• Jeera Powder (Cumin Seed Powder) - 1tsp
  
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Salt to taste
• Oil - 2 tbsp
  

Procedure:

Served!

• Wash the chicken and make small cuts with a knife on each piece. This ensures better marination
• Add the haldi and lime juice to the chicken and keep it aside
• Now grind the Dhania Powder, Jeera Powder, Garlic Cloves, Curds, Red chilli Powder, half of the coriander leaves  together in a mixer till it is a fine paste
• Add this paste to the Chicken with the salt and keep aside for marination
• Heat some oil in a pan
• Add the star aniseed, cloves, and open the pods of the badi elaichi and add to the oil
• Add the onion paste and fry till it is a golden brown
• Add the marinated chicken and cover the pan and keep on low flame
• Cook for about 10-15 mins on low flame and then add some water to get required quantity of gravy
• Now simmer on low flame for 10-15 more mins ti the chicken is cooked
• Garnish with coriander and Serve Hot  with bread or chapati or rice. 

Thepla

This is a traditional authentic gujju recipe shared with me by one of my friends. I totally love it. But, it does depend on your skill to make thin chappatis with the belan! ;)


Thepla Recipe

(Serves four)

Ingredients:

• ½ kg wheat flour
• 1 tea spoon red chili powder
• ½ tea spoon turmeric powder
• Salt as per taste
• Til – 1 tea spoon
• 1 garlic
• Oil – 1 tea spoon to be added to the flour
• Methi – half (to be cut it fine)

Preparation:

1. Add red chili powder, turmeric, salt, til, garlic and oil to wheat flour and mix it well.
2. Then add the finely chopped methi leaves to the mixture and add water and knead it well to prepare the dough.
3. Then make even size small balls of the dough.
4. Roll them separately with a rolling pin into a round shape.
5. Heat the tava and roast each of the rolled out theplas one by one.
6. First roast one side, turn it upside down.
7. Then put 1/2 tsp oil on the turned side and again it upside down.
8. Repeat the same with the other side.
9. When evenly roasted remove it from tava.
10. Repeat this for all the balls.
11. Serve them hot with butter or chutney or curd or chhunda or pickle.

Cheese Chilly Toast

Just wonderful for those cold winter days!!
Ingredients:

• 6-8 BreadSlices -White or Brown
• Cheese(Amul/Britania) - 1 cup Grated
• Butter
• Half a Capsicum - Finley Chopped
• Green Chillies - 1-2 nos finely chopped
• Garlic Cloves - 1-2 cloves finely chopped
• Coriander - finely chopped
• Pepper - half a tsp
• Red Chili powder - half a tsp
• Salt to taste

Procedure:

•  Mix the chopped capsicum, chillies, salt, pepper, cheese, sugar(a pinch if you like)
• Take a slice of bread and put some butter on it.
• Put some of the mixture that we made in step 1 on the bread 
• Heat a pan (tawa)
• Put the bread slice with the mixture on it and toast it on medium flame for around 5 mins till it becomes a golden brown. You can cover the bread with a lid to achieve uniform cooking
• Repeat for all the slices and server hot with a garnishing of coriander