Tandoori Aloo

Today I am going to share my tandoori aloo recipe. A no fuss recipe which could replace your heavily fried and fat loaded party starters easily.  And the taste is simply divine.  You can serve it as a starter, side dish or evening snack.  Everyone going to like it for sure and the best part is that its a NO-OIL dish.  You just need to grease the tray for baking and thats it.  But trust me you won't miss the oil in it.  So its a guilt free delicious snack. 

I love the fact that there is no cutting and chopping required to make it.  Just prepare the marination and its done.  You can even modify the marinade according to your taste. Its just the marination that takes time.  Almost 10-12 hrs marination is required here. 

In this recipe, although you can use diced potatoes too but I recommend to use baby potatoes to get the best of this dish.  Here I used Tandoori Chicken Masala for marination but you can use any tandoori masala for the same.  

You can make it on stove top too.  Just use a non stick pan and add 2-3 drops of oil to avoid any sticking.  

So lets start making these lip smackingly yummy Tandoori Potatoes.  Happy Cooking  :)

Ingredients:

Baby potatoes	18
Hung curd	3 ½ tbsp
Ginger –garlic paste	Little less than ½ tsp
Kasuri Methi/Dried fenugreek leaves	1 tbsp
Tandoori Chicken Masala/ Tandoori Masala	1 tsp
Red chilli powder	½ tsp or to taste
Salt	½ tsp or to taste
Green coriander (chopped)	1 tbsp
Oil	For greasing

Method:

• Take the potatoes and wash them thoroughly.  Pressure cook them till partially boiled or for 2 whistles.  Remove.  Peel off the skin and set aside.
• Take a large mixing bowl, add in curd, dried fenugreek leaves, salt, red chilli powder, tandoori masala and ginger garlic paste.  Mix everything very well and make the marinade.  Add the peeled potatoes in the prepared marinade and mix well with hands.  Cover the bowl with a cling film and keep in the fridge for overnight or 10-12 hrs.
• After 10-12 hrs, remove it from the fridge and leave for 10 minutes to come to room temperature.  Meanwhile, preheat the oven at 180 degree and line a baking tray with aluminium foil. Spray some oil to avoid sticking and arrange the marinated potatoes in it.  Bake at 180 degree for 15 minutes, after that reduce the temperature to 160 degree and bake for another 10 minutes.
• Remove from oven.
• Serve warm, garnished with coriander.

Notes:

1. Instead of baby potatoes you can take big potatoes and dice them.
2. Partially boil the potatoes.  Do not over boil them as they may break while marination.
3. Marinate the potatoes for 10-12 hrs for best results.
4. While baking keep checking after 15 minutes as the temperature settings varies from oven to oven.  If you find that your potatoes are cooked well with marination you can remove them from the oven.

Healthy Pizza Packets/ Veg Calzones

Pizzas are favourite to almost everyone.  I love them too though I made them once or twice in a month.  

For my love towards pizzas, I wanted to try pizza packets or calzones.  So I prepared my homemade pizza sauce and pizza dough specially for this recipe.  Then I made the stuffing with my choice of veggies and cheese.. and TADAA!!! got these yummilicious pizza packets.  I made them for the first time and they turned out to be delicious.  Pizza sauce, cheese and veggies were simply bursting out in every bite.  I loved it to the core.

The name sounds not-so-easy kindda dish but its surprisingly easy to make.  To make it a little healthy, I added whole wheat flour to the dough.  Above all, its a baked snack so no frying.  It also has less calories as I stir fried the veggies in just 3/4 tsp of oil  :D

Its a great party starter and kids will love it.  All in all its a must try. So don your aprons and get into the cooking.  Happy Cooking :)

                              

Makes - 6 packets

Ingredients:

For dough:

Whole wheat flour     -      1 cup

All purpose flour       -      1 cup

Instant dry yeast        -      1 1/2 tsp

Olive oil                    -      3 tbsp

Sugar                         -      2 tsp

Salt                            -      1/2 tsp

Lukewarm water       -      as required

For stuffing:

Homemade pizza sauce                           -  1 cup

Processed cheese (grated)                       -   1/2 cup

Cabbage (finely chopped)                       -  1 cup

Capsicum (finely cut lengthwise)           -   2 small

Sweet corns (Boiled)                              -   1/2 cup 

Onion (finely cut lengthwise)                -    1 small

Green beans (blanched)                         -    1/4 cup

Black pepper                                          -    1/4 tsp or to taste

Olive oil                                                 -    3/4 tsp

Salt                                                         -    o taste

Method:

• Dough- Take a large bowl and add in both the flours, salt, sugar and yeast.  Mix everything well.  Add oil and mix with the flour.  Add lukewarm water little by little and make a smooth dough.  Knead it well for 4-5 minutes.  Shift to an airtight container and leave it to rise for about 2 hours.

• For stuffing - Heat oil in a non stick pan.  Add chopped onions and fry for 2-3 minutes on high flame.  Add sweetcorn and beans.  Stir for 2-3 minutes.  Add cabbage and capsicum and stir for another 4-5 minutes.  Add black pepper and salt.  Stir for 1 minute and remove from the flame.  Set aside.

• Preheat oven at 180 degree.  Grease a baking tray and set aside.

• Take the raised dough and punch it down.  Pinch a lemon size ball from the dough and roll out a 1/4 inch round chapati. Evenly spread pizza sauce on half of the rolled chapati.  Spread the fried veggies on the sauce layer.  Finally top it with grated cheese and bring the other half of chapati over it.  Close it from all the corners well with water.  Make more pizza packets with remaining dough and stuffing likewise.  Arrange on the greased baking tray and bake for 15 minutes or till the top gets lightly brown.
• Remove from the oven and serve warm.

Notes:

1. In place of whole wheat flour, you can take 2 cups of all purpose flour.
2. Mozzarella cheese can also be used in place of processed cheese.
3. You can add your choice of veggies in the stuffing.
4. If you are using dry yeast then proof it first.  For that, take the lukewarm water and add in sugar.  Then add the dry yeast and cover it for 5-10 minutes .  After 10 minutes you will see the bubbles have formed.  Add that mixture to the flour and knead as given in the recipe.

Eggless Whole Wheat Banana Muffins

I am back with one more banana recipe.  It is eggless, butterless and made with whole wheat.  But please do not think that I am gonna share the recipe of some tasteless n blunt kindda muffins... no no no.. these are so delicious.  I made these muffins with ripe banana and as banana is a good substitute of egg for many baked goodies, I didn't add any egg in these muffins.  They came out perfectly fluffy and soft.  I always try to make something new with ripe bananas and these muffins are a part of those experiments.  Just after preparing the batter I decided to give a twist to these cutie muffins.  I put a piece of chocolate in the center of all the muffins and when V tasted it, melted chocolate came as a sweet surprise to him :D  

I was very happy with the results.  My toddler too relished these muffins.  These are perfect for breakfast and kids lunch box.  No need of icing.  I just love the flavour of banana in it.  Here, to help you, I have added some pics I took while making these muffins.

So lets start making these perfect, healthy and yummy muffins.  Do try and enjoy.  Happy Cooking :)

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour	¾ cup
Banana	1 (Ripe)
Baking powder	½ tsp
Baking soda	1/8 tsp
Brown sugar	6 tbsp
Bar one / 5 star chocolate	1 bar (optional)
Oil	¼ cup
Milk	1 tbsp
Curd	2 tbsp
Vanilla essence	½ tsp
Mixed raisins	2 tbsp  (optional

Method:

• Sieve together wheat flour, baking soda and baking powder.  Set aside.
• Take mixed raisins and add 1/2 tsp flour to it.  Mix well and set aside.
• Line a muffin pan with paper liners and set aside.
• Preheat oven at 180 degree.
• In a mixing bowl, take sugar and oil.  Mix both till sugar melts.  Add curd and mix well.  Add milk and vanilla essence and mix again.
• Take banana in a separate bowl and mash it with the help of a fork.  Add it to the oil mix and whisk everything well.
• Add flour mix little by little to the oil banana mix.  Whisk well to make a lump-free batter.  The batter should not be too thick or too watery.  If you find that the batter is too thick add one more tbsp milk.  
• Finally add raisins to the batter and give it a stir.  
• Take the chocolate bar and cut it into six equal pieces.
• Take the prepared batter and fill the muffin cups till 1/4.  Put a piece of chocolate in the center and top it up with some more batter.  Do not fill the cups more than half.  Likewise, fill all the muffin cups with a piece of chocolate in the center. (pics below).

                                 

Bake the muffins for 20 minutes or till a knife inserted comes out clean.  Take out the tray from the oven and let the muffins rest for 3-4 minutes.

Out of oven 

Remove the muffins from the tray.  Let them cool on a wire rack.

Serve warm.

Notes:

1. Instead of brown sugar you can add white powdered sugar or castor sugar.
2. Brown sugar gave a nice brown color to these muffins.
3. You can skip the raisins and add your choice of dried fruits or even tutty fruitty.
4. Keep checking the muffins in the oven to avoid burning as temperature varies from oven to oven.  After baking the muffins for 15 minutes, keep checking.
5. Do not over bake.
6. Use of chocolate is also optional.

Easy Christmas fruit cake (Alcohol free)

Hello to all my readers.  This is the last day of this year and I have already started making it special.  As I had promised you to post an easy peasy Christmas fruit cake recipe, here it is for you all.

Its a very easy n no fuss cake.  Everything you would find in your very own kitchen.  No fancy ingredients but the taste is simply divine. Unlike other Christmas fruit cakes this one is completely alcohol free. 

My cake came out so soft and yummy and the aroma had just filled my entire home.  I had again experimented here but this time I was so sure about the success as the ingredients were sure shot :)  Unlike my other bakes, this cake is made with egg but I used only one (as usual) and I can bet you are not gonna smell it due to the aromatic Indian spices.  Its a must try.  I had soaked my fruit mix in orange juice, instead of Rum, for three days but if you dont have much time you can soak for 24 hrs.  Even if you dont have 24 hrs. then also you can make this cake :) Yes you are reading correct YOU CAN MAKE THIS CAKE :)  Now no excuse please :D  If you dont have time for soaking you can add your dried fruits with boiled sugar butter mix that I have used in the recipe.  This cake is gonna rock your parties or you can simply make it to treat yourself.  This is a no fail recipe trust me. So I am leaving you here with the recipe of this awesome fruit cake.  Do try. Happy Cooking :)

Ingredients:

All purpose flour	1 cup
Brown sugar	½ cup
Salted Butter	Little less than ¼ cup
Oil	1 tbsp
Baking soda	Little less than ¾ tsp
Egg	1
Cinnamon powder	Little less than ½ tsp
Nutmeg powder	Little less than ¼ tsp
Clove (powdered)	3 or ¼ tsp
Ginger grated or powdered	¼ tsp
Vanilla essence	¼ tsp
Cashews (chopped)	15
Glazed cherries (optional)	3 (chopped)
Dried fruit mix (raisins, black currant, golden raisins,orange peels)	1 cup
Orange juice (I used store bought orange juice)	1 ½ cups (To soak the dried fruit mix )
water	1/2 cup + 1/8 cup

Method:

• In a mixing bowl, sieve together all purpose flour and baking soda.  Keep aside.
• If you have time, soak dried fruit mix in orange juice atleast for 24 hrs. 
• Take a sauce pan, add sugar, butter, water, cinnamon powder, nutmeg powder, powdered clove and ginger powder and mix well.  Put on the stove and let it boil till sugar dissolves.  Once its boiled and sugar is dissolved, remove from stove and let it lukewarm.  Beat the egg lightly and add into the prepared sugar butter mix. Also add vanilla essence and mix.  At this stage, separate the soaked dried fruit mix from orange juice and add it to the lukewarm sugar butter mix and give a quick stir.  Discard the orange juice.  ( If you dont get the time to soak the dried fruits you can directly add them to the sugar water mix before boiling).
• Set the oven at 180 degree.  Grease your cake pan with oil or non stick spray and dust the same with flour. Keep it aside.
• In the sugar butter mix, add all purpose flour little by little to avoid the formation of lumps.  Mix well to make it a smooth batter.  Add oil, cashews and chopped glazed cherries.  Mix well.
• Pour the cake batter to the greased cake pan and bake for 55 to 60 minutes. 
• Keep checking the cake after 40 minutes by inserting a knife in the center of the cake.  If the knife comes out clean, cake is baked, if not keep increasing the baking time by another 10 minutes.
• Once the cake is baked, remove it from the oven and let it cool down at least for 10 minutes.
• Carefully shift the cake to the serving plate and enjoy.

Notes:

1. You can use white sugar in place of brown sugar.  Brown sugar gives the deep brown color to the cake.
2. I have used 1 cup of dried fruit mix, you can use more.  You can use tutty fruitty as well. You can add almonds instead of cashews or both.  You can use your choice of dried fruits in this cake but do not overload the cake with them.
3. Spice level can be increased or decreased as per your choice.
4. If using unsalted butter, add 1/4 tsp of salt in the batter.
5. My cake took exact 60 minutes to bake but baking time differs according to the oven so keep checking your cake after 40 minutes. Do not over bake the cake.
6. You can soak your dried fruits in rum also.
7. Do not skip egg as it would help in raising the cake and making it fluffy.  You would not get the eggy smell due to the use of spices.
8. You can make the icing for the cake or have it with simple chocolate sauce or vanilla icecream.

Choco Pineapple Marble Cake

Hi friends.  These days I am in festive mood as christmas is around the corner.  From my childhood, Christmas has always given me that festive feel after Diwali.  This time I have decorated the Christmas tree two weeks back :D  I also love the combination of winters and christmas.  It gives me festive delight.  However, it wont be winter season here in zambia on christmas but Christmas Tree, Cakes, Cookies, Chocolates, holidays and above all my loved ones will make it perfect for me.  I am thinking to make something new daily to add in festivity in my routine life.  So starting with this yummy cake that is the result of my one more experiment thats again came out yum.  Unlike my other bakes, this one is with egg.  I dont like the smell of eggs in baked goods so I try to avoid adding eggs but if I do I strictly try to put not more than one egg and to suppress its smell I add many other flavours to the recipe.  Here also I did the same thing. This is a choco pineapple marble cake, a deliccious treat for everyone.  I love marble cakes and more than its taste I love its appearance.. swirly wowww beautiful.   After baking this cake when I tasted it first I felt the sugar level is less than what I had wanted but after cooling down it was perfect.  Still if you find it less sugary you are free to increase the sugar level or you can top it with some chocolate sauce.  You will find it yummy in any way.  So here is the recipe of a perfect tea cake for parties or just for that evening cuppa tea with family.  Try out.  Happy Cooking :)

love the beautiful swirls 

Ingredients:

All purpose flour	1 cup + 1 tsp for dusting
Powdered sugar	½ cup
Oil	¼ cup
Egg	1
Baking powder	½ tsp
Baking soda	¼ tsp
Mixed fruit jam	1 tsp
Pineapple essence	1 tsp
Coco powder	2 tbsp
Milk	1/8 cup
Coffee powder	¼ tsp mixed with 1 tbsp milk

Method:

• Grease a baking tin with oil and dust with flour.  Keep aside.
• Preheat the oven at 180 degree.
• In a mixing bowl, sift together all purpose flour, baking soda and baking powder.  Keep aside.
• In another bowl, beat egg and powdered sugar till fluffy.  Add oil and beat again.  Add pineapple essence and jam.  Slowly add half of the flour mix and half milk.  Mix well.  Add remaining flour mix and milk, if needed.  Mix again.
• Shift half of the batter in another mixing bowl and in the remaining half batter add coco powder and coffee mix.  Mix well.
• You will be having two cake batters.  Take the baking tin, pour a layer of some choco batter then pour another layer of white batter over it.  Repeat the process till both the batter finish.  You will see the beautiful swirls on the top.

Ready to go in the oven

• Bake it for about 40 minutes.
• Remove from oven and let it cool down.

Just out from the oven 

• Enjoy with a cuppa tea or chocolate sauce.

Note:

1. If you want the cake to be on the more sweeter side increase the sugar quantity or have the cake with chocolate sauce or vanilla icecream.
2. If you do not have pineapple essence you can add any flavour of your choice.
3. If you want to make it eggless, add half a tin of condensed milk and decrease the sugar quantity from 1/2 cup to 1/4 cup.
4. After 35 minutes check the cake once if it is done.   If not bake for another 5 minutes.
5. I have made this cake in bread tin you can make it in any kind of baking pan.