Til ke ladoo (Jaggery -Sesame seeds balls)

                           Til  ke Laddo

 Til ke laddoo

Let's  enjoy this  beautiful  winter season with  delicious  sweet dish.... Jaggery - Sesame seeds Balls (Til ke laddoo). This  is  most  loved   dessert in the season of winter If  you are not feeling like  to eat anything  in the morning  ...just have 1 or 2 ladoo in  the breakfast  with a glass of milk...its very healthy.  You can  Store these  laddoo in air tight  jar for  several days.

Vermicelli with whole milk and dry fruits )

                                Sheer/ Sheer Khurma

            

Sheer/ Sheer khurma

 Happy Eid to all of you!!! 

Fried White Bread Dessert

                               Shahi Toast / Shahi Tukda

Shahi Toast/ Shahi Tukda

Shahi Toast  is  the dish  which my mummy` used to cook for my Daddy . This dish is my  father's favourite dish. Although I try  to pamper my daddy  with this Dish , but I still miss  my mother's  taste of Shahi Toast . 
This dish is  very  rich in  calories, so people do not want to  eat it often...  even I enjoy it occasionally.

On special occasions or  formal dinner it goes great.

Yesterday I  invited  newly wed couple at my place for  a formal dinner. We are  quite  close  and  friendly, so I asked them , what they want to  have for  dessert , they said.. Shahi Tukda!

Sweet Vermicelli/Qimami sivaiyaan

                    Qimami sivaiyaan

Qimami siwaiyaan

With out Qimaami Sivaiyaan celebration of Eid can not be completed. I have started  missing my mother...who used to cook delicious Qimami  Sivaiyaan on Eid ... I am sharing her recipe of qimami sivaiyaan  with all  of  you on the festival of Eid. 

stuffed split yellow peas bread

         Chane ki daal ke paratha / roti

 chane  ki daal ke parathe 

At last we have got a sigh of relief from scorching heat of summer. Drops of rain, beautiful rainy season,romantic beautiful songs  and Chane ki daal ke parathe/ roti  with mangoes  and  kacche aam ki paki chutney .... what's a combination of celebrating well favoured rainy season! Chane ki daal ke paratha / roti can be a good option to cook something special on lovely rainy day. For that you will be needing....

Cooked raw mango sauce

                  kacche Aam ki Pakki chutney 

Within few days  raw mangoes are going to disappear from the market and I do not want you to miss this opportunity to cook this chutney   as  you can  preserve and enjoy  it whole year.

Today  I cooked  huge  quantity  of  Kacche Aam ki Pakki Chutney  ...which   i will enjoy  till the next season of summer.

Meat balls with Dill, fenugreek leaves and spinach

              Palak, Soya-Methi ke kofte 

Meat balls with soya,palak,methi saag

Couple of months ago my loving cousin sister Binni Baji (Sehba Imam) was recalling the taste of my mother's recipe  kofta with palak ,soya, methi ka saag. She demanded me to publish that recipe  for her. Due to lack of time i was not able to cook this dish  as  this dish requires a lot of time . 

Few days ago I visited  my home town Bareilly where I cooked this dish for my father . Our domestic help noor afshaan helped me to cook this dish.....thank you ... Noor fshaan  for the cooperation.

Minced meat for  meat balls

Meat balls/ kofte

Category - non Vegetarian
Serve-  4-6 people

Preparation time:1 hour

   Indrediants  for Meat  Balls (kofta)

• Minced  meat(qeema)- 1/2 k.g
• Onion paste- 2 table spoon
• Garam masala powder-  1/4 tea spoon 
• Rosted chana powder-or gram flour (rosted)- 3 table spoon full
  
• White poppy seeds powder ( khas- khas 1/4 tea spoon)
• Ginger-garlic paste- 1/2 tea spoon
  
• Turmeric-1/2 tea spoon
  
• Red chili powder- 1/4 tea spoon
  



kofte

• Salt- 1/2  tea spoon

For filling

• Coriander/ mint leaves-chopped-1-table spoon
• Green chili-chopped- 4-5
• Onion(chopped)-1 small
• Ginger (chopped)-1/2 tea spoon

Method

Wash well minced meat in  the sieve then drain well. Finely grind  minced meat in the mixer grinder, add other ingredients and  spices all together  and blend it well.
Well mixing is very important  to make your kofta smooth  other wise,meat balls  may break while cooking.

 Meat balls with soya ,palak, methi  saag

Put  small  quantity of prepared minced meat on your palm , fill chopped  mixture of coriander, green chili,onion- ginger in it  and  make  small  balls. 
Keep it aside  and  start preparation for gravy. 
For that you will be needing-



Ingredients for gravy 
       

• Spinach( palak chopped)-1k.g chopped

• Dill leaves( soya leaves)-1table spoon
• Fenugreek leaves green( hari methi )-3 table- spoon /or dry leaves-1tea spoon
• Onion paste-2 table spoon
• Mustard oil/ refined oil-4 table spoon
• Garlic-Ginger paste-1/2 teaspoon
• Salt-1/2 tea spoon
• Green chili-5 (chopped)
• Turmeric-1/2 tea spoon
• Red chili powder-1/2 tea spoon
• Coriander powder- 1/2 tea spoon

How to do -
To prepare gravy, heat the mustard oil in the deep pan, add onion, garlic  ginger paste, stir a little,now add turmeric, red chili,coriander powder salt, stir 2-3 times,add 1/4 cup of water and  let it cook till the water dry. Now add chopped  hari palak, methi,soya leaves, mix  it all with gravy well. When  palak cooked a little, add  meat  balls in the gravy care fully , just move the pan a little so that gravy mix with the meat  ball.  

Do not use ladle to move meat balls till it cooked a little. Stir time to time. Cook  this dish on the medium flame. You  need  not  to add water in it because  palak leaves its water itself. While cooking  you can smell the  aroma of  hari soya- methi leaves  which  can  make you  impatient to eat it. So have patience till  the  dish is ready. 

When the kofta turned soft  and  well cooked  with palak. let the water dry of the dish, parch it well. Adjust the salt again. When  oil started separate  from the gravy. Turn off the heat. palak soya- methi kofta is ready... 

Meat balls with soya -palak -methi ka  saag

Now  last but not the least... garnish your dish with your  love  and  affection... believe me it will make your dish richer  and tastier. Have it with roti  plain rice.its  tastes sooooooooooooo delicious.

Happy cooking!!!
Arshia zaidi
 



 

Besan Roti - Pyaaz ki chutney (Chick pea flour bread and onion- tamarind) sauce)

     

 

Besan ki Roti aur Pyaaz ki chutney

From couple of days I was craving to have  my favourite dish Chick pea flour bread  and onion- tamarind sauce(Besan ki roti aur Pyaaz ki chutney). yesterday I had it in my dinner.It was so delicious . 

Generally we cook  it on the 10th of Moharram to break our all day long fast, Which we keep in the memory of Hazrat Imam Hussain who martyrdom on this day.

I want you to taste this awesome dish . For this dish  you will be needing...

Meal-Egg Plant-Potatoes(Baigan Aaloo)

       Baigan-Aaloo (Egg Plant-Potatoes)
                                                       

 

Egg Plant -Potatoes(Baigan-Aaloo) is a dish which is  one of my favourite. I love to have it with  plain rice & mango pickle which tastes awesome.

Baigan -Aaloo(eggplant with potatoes)

 It's only  my brother  Ali ,who never liked this dish and made faces when ever asked to eat Baigan- Aaloo, but the day he tasted this  recipe he  started  liking it . Now he  eats baigan -Aaloo happily.....

here are the ingredients of delicious egg plant-potatoes ( Baigan -Aaloo).

 Category-  vegetarian
 Time- 15- 20 min.
 people- 3-4


Ingredients

      

• Egg plant(Baigan)-1/2 k.g

• Potatoes(Aaloo) 2 medium size
• Green chili(chopped)-4
• Riped tomato(chopped)-2 medium size
• Onion(chopped)-3 medium size
• Garlic (chopped) -5 cloves
• Fenugreek seeds (Methi daana) 10-12
• Red chili powder-1/4 tea spoon
• Turmeric powder-1/2 tea spoon
• Coriander powder-1/2 tea spoon
• Salt.-1/2 tea spoon (as per your taste)
• Ginger-1/4 tea spoon (Chopped)
• Coriander leaves (Chopped)

 How to do

Wash Brinjal- Potatoes, peel it off
 and  cut into small pieces.

Heat the mustard oil/ refined oil in the  pan or pressure cooker. Fry chopped onion until it turns light pink, add  methi dana , stir a little. now turn the flame low and mix other spices like turmeric, red chili, and coriander powder  and  stir quickly, add chopped tomatoes, green chili, garlic, ginger....mix it well  and  add  1/2 cup of water .let the gravy cook till the water dry.when the oil started coming  on the gravy... add potatoes-egg plant in gravy... mix it well ,add 2 table spoon of water... close the lid of pressure cooker  and  bring it to one whistle on the low flame.( if you are cooking in a vessel then you need to add 1-cup of water,  cook it till  vegetables turn  well cooked) .Let the lid open... settle the salt, parch it well until dish is done....  garnish it with chopped coriander leaves.

Tasty Baigan -Aaloo is  ready. Serve it with Roti & Plain Rice.

Baigan- Aaloo(eggplant with potatoes)

Have you ever tried  the combination of  Baigan -Aaloo, Plain Rice with pickle ?..... just try it once... its awesome !

Happy Cooking !!! 
Arshia Zaidi

Snack - Black Chickpea (kala chana)

                         Black Chickpea(kala chana)

          Black Chickpea(Kala Chana)

We all  know that  chickpea ( kala Chana) is very healthy for our health. It  is called power house of nutrients, as it is rich in proteins, fiber, carbs, vitamins & minerals. The best part is .... that it is very low in cholesterol... 
India is  the country  where ... the chick pea  production is  very high .There are several recipes  of black chick pea .I remember .....  Mummy  used to  serve  us kala chana (chickpea) dish in the break fast. One of the  tasty  and  healthy breakfast/Snack of  chick pea  is here   for you"From my Mother's kitchen".

Start your day  with this healthy breakfast...... 

here are the ingredients.....

• Chick Pea raw ( kala chana) -1 glass (soak in water) 
• Salt-1/2 tea spoon
• Pinch of soda 
• Tomato- (chopped)-1
• Lemon-1
• Green Chili(chopped)-4
• Cumin seeds(Zeera)-1/4 tea spoon
• Refined Oil-2 tea spoon
• Red Chili powder-1/4 tea spoon

Wash kala chana (black chick pea ) well  and soak in  2 glass of water over night. do not drain water of kala chana. Boil chana with salt  and  a pinch of soda  in the same water  of soaked  chic pea as  that water contains  extracts minerals of kala chana.

  Bring it to  5-6 whistle  in the  pressure cooker  on the  medium flame. Now turn off the heat..  and  wait for  lid  to open it self.  when the lid open.. check it out if  kala chana has turn soft. if it is so.... dry up the extra water of chana.

Baghaar/ tadka

 Tadka / Bhaghaar for kala chana


In between heat 2 tea spoon refined oil in the pan, turn off the heat  and  add cumin seeds (zeera)  and  chili powder in oil, quickly pour out in the  pressure cooker  and  mix it well with black  chickpea.

Garnish it with chopped, onion, green chili, tomato,   do not forget  to add 3-4 drops of lemon over the   black chic pea.
Enjoy mouth watering  taste of chick pea (kala chana).

kala chana/ Black chickpea

Happy Cooking!!!
 Arshia Zaidi


 

Break fast - Meethi Roti(sweet Bread)

                   Meethi roti/ (Sweet bread)

Meethi Roti/sweet Bread

 Do you want to have some special  breakfast today ? if your answer is yes... I would like to share a simple, quick  and  delicious dish for your breakfast called Meethi Roti(Sweet Bread).
When ever ,we all wanted to had some special breakfast ,Mummy served us  meethi roti with salty butter and egg fry. That was the  breakfast we always wanted to have ... happily. Even now my family jumps with joy when i say that 'I am going to cook meethi roti for breakfast.
so guys...try this recipe of Meethi Roti... you  are going to fall in  love  with  it.

For Meethi Roti you will need

• Sugar-1cup
• Whole wheat flour-4 cup(full)
• Refined oil-2 table spoon
• Water-1 cup
• Salt-1/2 t.s
• Ajwain(trachyspermum ammi)-1/4 tea spoon
• Butter(salty)to apply on  Indian bread (Roti) 

How to do
Make a solution of  sugar,  salt  in the above mentioned 1/2 cup of water. 

Mix well  wheat flour , refined oil and  ajwainin  and  knead  the flour  in prepared lukewarm solution of salt  and  sugar . Please remember dough should be soft enough to roll a roti,.....you can add some milk to knead soft dough....
with  hard  sweet  dough ...  it would be difficult  for you  to roll roti.  

Make   medium size  balls  out of the dough. Dough will be little sticky due to sugar so apply little more dry flour on the balls, then roll a roti.
In between heat  the pan(tawa) on the medium  flame. Put the meethi roti on -tawa. Cook  it well on the low flame till the roti gets light pink .

 Meethi Roti/Sweet Bread

Apply salty  butter on the  Meethi roti. Enjoy it with  egg fry & hot tea. aha ... ha ...maza aaya na !
Looking  forward  for your feed back.
     
Happy Cooking!!!
  Arshia Zaidi


  

Mutton Stew

                                                     

Meat stew /Mutton stew

Mutton Stew is one of the most favourite dish of all of us. People cook it in different -different style.Mummy had her own style to cook it. I remember when ever Mummy cooked this awesome dish... I always demanded  her to cook it in large quantity... as we  always loved to enjoy left over Mutton stew with a layered crispy paratha  in the breakfast 
Just try it...and let your taste buds decide the rest.

aam ka achaar/ pickles

                        Aam k a Achhar                                                   
                                                          ( (Raw Mango Pickle)

 Aam ka achaar/ Mango pickle

Summer comes with a smell of  tangy Mango.There are varieties of pickles  which can be added in our meal to boosts taste. This mango pickle was my mother's  favourite  ,which she used to prepare with  immature mangoes in  the month of April .Usually it takes  a week to settle the pickle but we impatient kids started eating this pickle just after 3-4 days. Just  try it....  for once, after that, you are going to prepare   this pickle season after season . 

 kacche, chele aam/ raw mango

• Raw immature green mango-1/2 k.g
• Salt-1tea spoon (or as per your taste)
• Red chili powder-1 tea spoon
• Turmeric powder 2-tea spoon
• Nigella sativa seeds (Kalounji)-1/2 tea spoon . 

Method-

 Mixture of spices  for mango  pickles

After washing   mangoes peel off their skin (no water should remain left).Cut them into small pieces.

 Aam ka achhar /mango pickle

Now mix turmeric powder, salt, kalaunji, red chili powder  with three table spoon mustard oil. Add pieces of mango in this paste. Mix it well as all  pieces of mango should be covered with this  paste. Put it in the glass jar and leave  pickle jar under the sunshine for a  week.Enjoy it with any meal specially with Daal-Chawal.

Happy cooking!!!

 Arshia Zaidi