Instant Mango Pickle (Bisi Uppinakai)

This is a simple and instant way of preparing pickles.It doesn't last for months but holds good for couple of weeks, if refrigerated well.

Ingredients:

3-4 Small Mangoes or 1 Big
11/2 tsp Red Chilli powder
1tsp Mustard and Fenugreek seeds
salt to taste

For Tempering
2tsp Oil
1tsp Mustard
Pinch of Asafoetida/Hing

Method:

Wash and cut the mango to small cubes with the skin discarding the seed. Now make the tempering in a pan with oil and mustard seeds and hing, switch off the flame and add cut mango pieces, Chilli powder and Mustard-Methi Powder. Mix well. Allow it to cool in the pan so mangoes become soft and the dry powders are well blended. Mango pickle is ready to serve.

Note:If u want extra tempering u can add it in the end but don't boil the pickle after u put all the masala's as Mangoes will become very soft and mushy. While serving every time keep in mind the spoon is not wet otherwise the pickle gets spoiled.

Pav Bhaji

A good friend of mine wanted Pav Bhaji recipe from me, so here you go Darshana, hope u like my version.

Ingredients:

1pack Pav/Dinner Rolls(I usually buy Sara Lee brand)
1tbsp Butter
2/3 Lemon slices

For Bhaji
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1cup Mixed Vegetables (Cauliflower,peas,Carrot,Beans, capsicum/bell peppers, tomato, potato)
1/2cup Finely chopped Red Onions
1-2tsp Pav Bhaji Masala
salt to taste
cilantro for garnish

Method:

Pressure cook the vegetables for 1 whistle.In a pan add 1 tsp butter/oil and add 1/2 the onions and saute it well,now add Pav bhaji masala and saute for few more seconds till the oil separates. Add the cooked vegetables(Mash it well before adding) and salt and mix well and let it boil once, add a little water if required(let the bhaji bee a little on a thicker consistency).

Toast the pav/dinner rolls by cutting it into half, with a little butter and keep it on a serving plate with bhaji on one side and a little chopped onions on the top with butter and cilantro.Serve hot.

[Note: You can add any vegetable of your taste with potato as standard ,it makes the bhaji thick]

Badam Burfi

Happy Deepavali to all the blogger out there.
Ingredients:
1cup Almonds
1cup Sugar
1tsp Ghee
1/4cup or less Milk

Method:

Soak the Almonds for 30 minutes in warm water and peel the skin.Now blend it with sugar and milk. Now put a spoon of ghee in a nonstick pan and keep it on Medium heat and pour the mixture and keep stirring for about 20 mins or so. Till all the paste leaves the edges and forms like a ball. Now grease a plate with a little ghee and pour the mixture and cool completely and cut it to desired shape.

Note: To know when its ready to pour it on a plate is the burfi starts to get dry.

Moong sprout Cutlet

Ingredients:

1cup Moong sprouts
2 green chillies finely chopped
1 cup Boiled and Mashed Potato
1tsp grated Ginger
1tsp Garam Masala Powder
2 slices White/Wheat bread
2tsp oil
salt to taste

Method:

Keep a tava on the flame and preheat it.Mix the Moong sprouts,Mashed potato,green chillies, ginger,garam masala powder,salt and soaked bread(soak the bread in a cup of normal water and squeeze all the water) and keep aside. Now divide it into equal sized balls.Now take one ball and flatten it a little and put it on the tava and apply a little oil on each side and shallow fry it.Serve hot with ketchup/chutney.

Dil Kush (Sweet Puff)

If you are from Bangalore or surrounding cities and used to go to the bakery's then u will be very familiar with this name. "Dil Kush" is a Hindi word and means "Happy Heart"or "Which makes the Heart Happy". Its one of the sweet snack available there and we used to eat at least once a week.Its a very dense and heavy snack for an evening.Its filled with lots of dry fruits and tutti-frutti's.

From a very long time i was craving for this recipe and searched the net but couldn't find it.So I tried to make my own and it was quite near to the one's available in the bakery. So I am happy it did not disappoint me. Its easy and can be made on any day for an evening snack.

I know the picture is not so good will upload a good view when I prepare it next time.

Ingredients:

Puff Pastry sheets
1 cup Dry coconut
1 cup Tutti-Fruity, dry fruits(Raisin,cashew nut)
pinch cardamom powder
1tsp melted butter

Method:

Preheat the oven at 400* F. Now thaw the puff pastry sheet for 30 Min's,mix tutti-fruity, dry fruits and cardamom powder. Roll the pastry sheet to a round shape about 6inch diameter. Make 2 such round pastry sheet. Now add the mixture and apply butter and close it with the other pastry sheet and fold it tight and apply butter allover on the top and bake for about 7 Min's or until it turns golden brown. Then cut it into 4 parts and serve. Don't keep it for too long as the mixture inside makes the bottom soggy.

Apple Jam

Jam is something I had never experimented before as I always used to have a store bought bottle in my refrigerator.But recently a good friend of mine returned few tapes of Sanjeev Kapoors' cookery show on Zee TV "khaana Kazaana".I used to watch that show and record all the good dishes.So I re-watched few and found a Green Apple Jam recipe in that and wanted to try that in order to clear the green apples I had left over from the Dasara Festival. For my surprise it turned out to be one of the easiest and healthy with no such chemical preservatives.v Its definitely a keep. Apples can be substituted with any other fruit like Strawberry, blueberry, banana, cheery,Mango, pineapple or mixed fruit too.

Ingredients:

3 Green Apples
2 cups Sugar
Green Food color(optional)
1tsp Lemon juice(Citric Acid)

Method:

Peel the skin and seeds off of green apples and cut it into small piece.Put them in heavy bottom vessel and cook them on medium flame for about 15 mins so it cooks well and becomes almost like a paste. Now add sugar and keep stirring them occasionally ,once the sugar melts and gets to a consistency add few drops of food color(which I didn't add) and lemon juice(Recipe demanded for citric acid but I substituted with lemon juice),stir well and allow it to cool. Store in a glass container in the refrigerator for months.

Note:Always cook in a medium/low flame so its easy to know the consistency of jam.