Meethi Dahi Barey {Lentil Dumpling in Sweetened Yogurt}

This is something that is usually made in the month of Ramadan for Iftaar. Its a soft lentil dumpling that is fried and dunked in sweet yogurt.

Its super easy, and can be made ahead of time.

For this recipe you'll need:

1/2 cup of Yellow Lentil

a pinch of Baking Soda

a pinch of Salt

1 1/2 cup of Yogurt

5-6 tbsp of Sugar

Soak Lentil in water for 1 hour.

Than blend to make a paste.

Add baking soda and salt. Mix and leave for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile heat water with a bit of salt till simmering.

Mix yogurt and sugar together. Keep aside.

Pour this mixture in a heated oil with a spoon, so that they form disc shapes, dont make them very large, as they will swell up in the water. Fry till light golden. 

Than add them in hot water for 5 minutes. Take them out. Press out access water when cool handle. 

Add them to sweetened yogurt. 

Sprinkle with Chaat Masala and serve !

Onion Fritters (Pakora)

Happy Ramadan everyone !

I havent been posting much here, even though i am free from everything these days (apart from making cakes of course !)

I've had a few recipes that i've wanted to blog about, just couldnt find the time !

I'm still waiting for my result, yea, i still dont have an MBBS degree :( (hopefully they'd announce the result soon)

Lets come down to the recipe i'd be sharing today,

These are onion Fritters that my mother makes, she adds anything she can find in these :D

so they are actually onion, spring onion and so-many-other-things fritters :D

i've been having these in Ramadan for as long as i can remember. Our Iftar table is not complete without these !

They are crispy and spicy and super delicious !

(This recipe is very versatile, You can adjust all the ingredients according to your taste)

You'll need

1/2 cup of Gram Flour (Besan)

1/2 tsp of Baking soda (Meetha soda, as we call it here)

Salt to taste

1/4 tsp of Red chili powder

1/4 tsp of Red Chili Flakes

1/4 tsp of Cumin (zeera)

1/2 tsp of Coriander seeds

1/4 tsp of Oregano

1 Onion sliced

2-3 Spring onions (sliced with the green part)

2-3 Green chilies

1 small Potato (Diced)

a handful of Coriander leaves

Mix gram flour with baking soda.

Add water and beat to make a thick paste. Make sure there are no lumps.

Leave for 2-3 hours.

When you are ready to fry them than add the other ingredients !

Salt, red chili powder, Oregano, Red chili flakes, Cumin, Coriander seeds, Green chilies

Add sliced onion

..diced potatoes

...spring onions and coriander leaves

Mix everything together, add water if necessary but make sure that it stays together !

drop the batter in hot oil with a spoon or use your hands to form Pakorey !

Deep fry till golden brown.

Serve with ketchup or Green coriander and mint chutney!

Garlic Bread

I love Garlic bread, and i'd be surprised if somebody here says that they don't!

Who doesn't love a nice piece of buttery, garlic-y bread !

And to take it to a next level, I made the french bread from scratch too ! :O

i know, i couldn't believe it myself :D

haha :D

You can definitely use ready made french bread if you don't want the hassle of  making one from scratch 

So down to the recipe

Ingredients: (for the bread) 

(this makes 1 large loaf of bread)

2 1/2 cup of Flour

1 tbsp of Yeast

2 tsp of Sugar

1/2 a tsp of Salt

1 cup of Warm Water

(for the garlic bread)

French bread sliced diagonally 

5-6 tbsp of Melted Butter

2-3 Large cloves of Garlic (Crushed)

a pinch of Salt (if you are using unsalted butter)

1/4 tsp of Black pepper

1/2 a tsp of Mixed Italian herbs (You can use any other herbs you like)

1/2 a cup of Cheese (cheddar or mozzarella)

Place warm water in a bowl, add sugar and yeast. 

Leave to bloom for 5-7 minutes

Than add all the flour and salt

Mix and knead to form a medium dough.

Leave to rise for an hour.

Look at this beautiful airy dough.

Punch it down (dont cringe, it will rise again).

Make the french bread shape and place it on a lightly grease baking sheet.

Place it in a COLD oven. than turn it on at 160 degree centigrade. 

I repeat, DO NOT PREHEAT THE OVEN.

Turn it on when u place the bread in.

Check after 25-30 minutes. It should be lightly brown on the bottom and on top.

Take it out and leave to cool.

Meanwhile mix together melted butter, black pepper, italian seasoning and garlic. Leave for 10 minutes for the flavors to blend together.

Cut the bread in diagonal slices.

Brush with generous amount of butter mixture

top it off with cheese. Sprinkle with a bit of oregano (totally optional)

Bake in a preheated oven for 5-7 minutes or till the cheese is melted.

Enjoy !!!!

Sharing recipe with Thursdays treasures

Mango Feerni - Mango and Rice Pudding

Hey guys, I'm back !! :)

The last 5 months have been quite hectic, I was stuck in preparation for my exams and than the actual exams , got free on 6th June and than got busy with cakes !

Now i feel like i can spare some time and write this post. I've missed you all ! <3

So for today i'd be posting a recipe for Mango Feerni that i found here.


You can leave out the mangoes (if you are not a big fan) and have it as is it.


Its a great make-ahead dessert, that you can whip up a day before a get together or a 'dawat'

So here goes,

1 liter of Milk
1/2 cup of Rice - soaked in water for 3-4 hours
1 can of condensed Milk
Pulp of 2 Mangoes ( blended to a smooth paste)
3-4 Cardamoms 
Sugar as required
A few drops of Kewera Essence
Crushed or Flaked Almonds and Pistachios for Garnish
A few small slices of Mango for garnish.

Grind Rice to make a paste. Keep aside.

Grind Mangoes to make a smooth pulp. Keep aside.

Boil milk with cardamom. Keep on simmering on low heat for 10 minutes.

Add the rice paste and a cup of water, keep on cooking on low heat with frequent stirring to prevent burning.

After 10 minutes add condensed milk. Keep on cooking till the rice is cooked and the Feerni is thick.

Add sugar. (keeping in mid that the condensed milk is quite sweet and you'd be adding mangoes as well)

Cook for a minute or two till the sugar dissolves.

At this stage you can take it out, chill and have it as is it. Its quite good !

For a mango version,

Add the mango pulp. Take off heat and cool to room temperature.

Than put it in the fridge to chill for a few hours. Garnish with Crushed almonds, pistachios and mango pieces!

Enjoy!!

Dahi Barey

Hey all.
So, yesterday's experiment payed off today !
i made dahi barey "again" and this time they were absolutely delicious !!!
i had these dahi barey at a friend's house, her mother made them to absolute perfection, so i asked my friend for the recipe. Thank u Mehreen Ehsan, I love u babe !

Unfortunately i forgot to take photos of the first few steps. Sorry guys ! :(

Ingredients:
(For the barey)
Gram Flour ( besan) : 6 tbsp
Salt : to taste
Red chili powder : 1/4 tsp
Baking Soda : 2 pinch

(For Dahi)
Yogurt : 1/2 kg
Red chili powder : to taste
Salt : to taste
Garlic : 2 cloves crushed

Method:

Mix together the ingredients for the barey with water till its dropping consistency(not too thick and not too thin) and leave for 30 minutes.

Mix together the ingredients for Dahi. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a frying pan(Do not do this is a wok, they become like a ball and stay hard in the center, frying pan works best, much better if its non-stick)

drop a teaspoon of the mixture, it will flatten automatically if it doesnt flatten it with a spoon. Cook on both sides till golden brown.

When they r done directly drop them in hot (not boiling) water. Cover for 5 minutes then take them out on a sieve.

When they warm to touch, press each one in your hands to drain excess water(i broke a few :D they were That soft :D)

 Pour Dahi over the barey, Sprinkle with Chaat Masala, add a bit of Sweet tamarind chutney as well .

Enjoy!!

Tip : You can also do a tarqa of whole red chilli and Curry leaves to add a little variation.

Ras Malai

Hey all

Ramadan Mubarak !

So today i woke up with an image of ras malai in my head, I knew right than that i had to try it Today. There was nothing my mother could do to change my  mind about that :D, so she just left me alone in the kitchen to make a mess :D

I've had this recipe for a while but never got around to making it, even though its a fairly simple and easy recipe. And believe me, the taste is amazing !!!

This recipe makes about 18-24 depending on the size u make.

Ingredients :

Milk : 1 liter

Sugar : 10-12 tbsp (depending on ur taste, i used 10)

Cardamom : 2-3

Milk Powder (i used Nido) : 1 cup

Baking powder : 1 tsp

Oil : 1 tbsp

Maida : 1 tbsp leveled

Egg : 1

Method :

Mix together 1 liter Milk, sugar and Cardamom. Put on low flame and bring to boil.

Let it simmer for 25-30 minutes to thicken.

 Meanwhile mix together Milk powder, Baking powder, Flour, Egg and oil...

...to form a medium dough...

 Make small balls...

 ...and lightly drop them in the simmering milk. Half cover the pot and leave for 10-12 minutes on low flame.

 After 10-12 minutes they will swell and rise to the surface. Remove from heat.

Garnish with almonds or pistachios. Chill and serve !

Enjoy!