Tuesday 27 May 2014

Tawa Garlic Butter Naan (Without Yeast)

I was never fascinated about naan's until I tried myself and loved the amazing result.

Working with yeast is simple but I dont really go towards yeast until we plan to make pizza's that too is so rare ( not even once a year ). 
Generally I was never interested about naan's this mite be strange but honestly naan's came in the list of "Not My Kind Of Food"

It was my parents anniversary last week when I decided a surprise dinner Just to be a big flop
Dad n bro had dinner outside (different places) in spite my insisting to have dinner at home, mom me too had dinner separately. What dint flop was the FOOD!! The more happy I was about the great result, equally was upset about how things went. Sometimes things dont go as we plan 


If you go by my words, its really easy to prepare!! No chance to panic at all!! If you have never made naan's till now, its ur turn to try out ur 1st shot and become expert. When u decide to make next time it will be so easy to work with because ur 1st try has given u gud experience on how to work with it :)

And yes most of the ingredients would be readily available in your pantry!!



For 8-10 naan's
Serve 4-5 people generously

Ingredients:
Maida / APF - 4 cups
Baking powder - 1and half tsp
Baking Soda - 1 and half tsp
Curd - 1/2 cup
Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp
Salt - 1tsp
Oil - 1tbsp
Water for kneading
Garlic - 8-10 Chopped
Coriander leaves 3-4 tbsp

Method:
- Sieve Maida, Baking powder and baking soda together, add salt curd, oil and knead into soft dough using water. the dough should be a little loose, not tightly binded.
- Now add lemon juice from top and knead again to mix light handed, not with force.
- Keep it to ferment for abt 4-5hrs With lid closed.
- It will double in size by the time you are ready to cook.
- By now the dough will be in sticky kind of state. Add more flour and knead again for better workable condition. Make balls out of dough (big enough as stuffed paratha)

Here Comes the Actual Job!!
- Now Use more flour and start rolling slowly each balls. This may be a tough job at 1st if you are new to making naan like me. but after one or 2 naan's you will know how to work with it.
- As you roll apply pressure firmly. Use more flour to roll if its sticking.
- When you get the desired shape add in garlic 1st on top side and then coriander, press it with fingers or rolling pin lightly so that it gets pressed to the surface of naan.
- Keep tawa hot and place the down side of naan 1st. Garlic and coriander side should be on top.
- When you place it after a min there will be big bubbles showing on top side. flip it to the another side and let it cook for another min. 
- Remove from tawa, you will see nice golden spots over the bubbles of naan and wonderful aroma of garlic and coriander emitting. 
- Keep all the prepared naan aside in a casserole (How To Keep Roti | Phulkas | Parathas Soft For Longer Time ) You can also keep it open. Since the naans are very soft it wont get hard quick!!
- When you are about to serve. Take each naan keep it over flame and turn both sides evenly. Apply butter and serve hot.



Notes:
- You can use half of APF and half of whole wheat flour for healthier version of naan.
- Usually grated garlic is used, but I have used finely chopped ones to spread evenly across the naan which is less possible with grated ones. It taste gud when you get garlic flavor in every bite.
- If you living place climatic condition is cool you can keep it warm places like oven which is pre heated and switched off. 
- While applying butter make sure butter is in solid state. When you apply the butter over hot naan the butter would melt evenly and just as little as needed if you are on restricted diet. 
- Coriander leaves mite burn when u keep the naan over flame, so be careful not to keep the naan over flame for longer time.
- You can omit the coriander, but its looks gud presentation wise!!



My Experience Working With Naan:
- No need to have perfect shaped naans (you might not get 1 perfect shape as well) :)
- While rolling for naan we might see its more like pizza dough when we keep rolling and the dough keeps coming back to the center. 
- Make naans round or oval is your wish. Both looked cool to me but round shaped gave much of a dominant look. 

- After rolling for about 4-5 inch of diameter I took naan in hands and kept shifting from one hand to another like hand made roti's. While shifting one hand to another the naan stretch to bigger size as well as get gud shape without using rolling pin. No need to use more dry flour while doing this.
Now this is called roti slap according to the website from which pic has been taken!! 

At the beginning it was irritating using rolling pin but later when I started doing this way it was fun working with the dough and its much much easier to get uniform stretches this way!!

- I felt there is no real need to Show the naan over the flame. I have reasons to justify my statement.

People show it over flame to get tandoori effect!! 

Tandoori effect can be got only when you have big tandoor with charcoal burning inside the pot, which will slowly cook the naan with its heat in the sides of the pot, thus you get nice aroma of charcoal too. See the pic below

When we keep naan over the flame we get darker spots effect but also we burn the coriander leaves. Aroma and taste of coriander leaves diminishes. Therefore No Tandoori Taste!!

So next time when I make naan's I'll make sure its just tawa cooked :) keep the naans in tava for a little longer and you get same effect in better way!! 



Wanna have a bite? :) 
The above pic shows the thickness and softness. 

My mom liked eating it just like that!! it was so yummm
I served it with Chicken Tikka Masala Gravy If you can see in one of the pic above!! 

It was all just perfect!!

Try it out make your weekend special!! Dont forget to give your feedback!!
Continue Reading

Saturday 24 May 2014

Healthy Ice Apple Dessert - Dieters Choice

Last Year I had Shared A Recipe Of Ice Apple With Milk, Which I Titled As FLOATING ICE APPLE IN MILKY PARADISE Check Out If You Haven't Seen Yet!!



This recipe is sister version of the above title mentioned, but a very healthy and low calorie treat.

Every Summer mom makes sure we get some ice apples and we consume it, as it is (whole fruit) skin peeled or making this yummy light dessert.

When mom brought this yesterday she asked me to make the dessert. Ice apples fused with milk gives real yumm taste, and really worth trying this way once.  I made very much as it is made always, But this healthier alternative strike my mind. I took out some the batch to try the innovation my way.




It was when I started adding sugar!! Sugar??? Ok I should admit im trying to omit sugar from my diet, unless and until im not giving a real treat to myself!! Or there is a shout from my family come-on have it!!

Time taken to prepare - 5 mins
Servings - 2

Ingredients :
Full Cream Milk/ skimmed milk - 1 cup (boiled and cooled)
Ice Apple - 6-8 (peeled & chopped)
Dates - 7-8 or more (chopped)
Basil seeds - 2 tsp
Almonds - 1tbsp (blanched) Sliced

Method:
- Add milk, ice apple and dates in a bowl and keep it inside fridge for 4-5hrs for flavors to infuse with each other
- Soak basil seeds in water for 15-20 mins and keep it in fridge for cooling separately
- Check for sweetness while serving. By this time dates would have soaked in milk nicely, mixing its sweetness to the dessert.
- Add in basil seeds (drain extra water) and almonds just before serving.
Serve it Chill.

Notes:
- If you want you can add sugar if you feel sweetness of dates is not enough.
- Basil seeds gives really soothing effect while eating
- Almonds give gud crunchiness.
- Shelf life of this is 6-8hrs, If milk and fruit is kept like that for longer time, it will produce a kind of stickiness which cannot be consumed.
- Its always better to add basil seeds while serving, I fear it may get sticky quick. 
- You can add more dates than mentioned above it will not effect the taste.



Personally I liked this combination alot!! It was just different and biggest thing was a big Healthy Tag It was Carrying :) It was a guilt free indulgence!!

Variation (For Guests)
- You can add condensed milk for richer taste.
- Use dates paste instead of pieces, this will give more dominance to taste of dates.
- Add in vanilla ice cream while serving.
- Can add in more dry fruits if desired.
- Add some amt of rose syrup from top while serving.






Continue Reading

Thursday 22 May 2014

How To Keep Roti | Phulkas | Parathas Soft For Longer Time

This Is A Short And Simple Post Specially For People Who Are New To Working With Indian Flat Breads.
Roties, Phulkas and Parathas are so common among Indian Families But still some find it difficulty in keeping it  hot and soft for longer time.
You can follow these simple steps and enjoy eating your rotis/ phulkas / parathas soft!!

1) As soon as you make roti's place them in cooling rack 1st.
2) In hot pack casserole place a cotton cloth as shown in pic bigger in size to the circumference of the dish.
3) As soon as you finish cooking place all the rotis inside the hot pack casserole as shown in the pic below



4) Now cover the rotis with the cloth from top as shown in pic below



5) Close the lid of casserole and leave it till you are ready to eat.
6) This will keep the roti / Paratha Hot for almost 1.5 - 2hrs  maximum. 
7) Softness of roti's will depend upon different things like kneading the dough and cooking method. But with this technique Rotis can Stay Soft for even next day. Rotis will get hard only when their exposure to air is for longer period of time.


Notes:
- You can directly place roti's in casserole but make sure the cloth is thicker to the bottom side, because the steam which is produced at the bottom will make the roti's soggy and sticky from the sides too.

- So its always better to place the cooling rack which has  atleast little space from the surface level for steam to pass out. Like pic below






- If you have a rack which is flat and does not have space below you can keep the rack over a bowl and place roti's over it. This will help steam pass towards bowl and wont make the roti / paratha soggy. Eg Pic above.

- If You Dont have a cooling rack not a problem, you can use regular flour sifter. 
Place it upside down and use it as the method mentioned above 

Hope This post is helpful Happy Cooking :)



Continue Reading

Tuesday 20 May 2014

Simple and Light Salads

Time Again For Guest Post!!
This special post is from Sarah Hall who loves to write articles. She mailed me long back asking if I can post her article in my blog. And here is wonderful post of her's Sharing some lovely simple and light salads Recipes...

Thank u Sarah Hope to get more posts from you in future :)

Cheese salad with white beans


White beans with cheese have a unique taste. You have

to try to prepare this cheese salad with white beans, which will fit even some festive table. You

will like this little culinary masterpiece.

You will need:

- 100 g of white beans and 100 g of hard cheese

- 1 onion

- 1 spoonful of vegetable oil

- sugar, vinegar, salt and fresh parsley

Preparing. White beans are one of the main ingredients for this salad, so let’s start from it. Soak

it in cold water for 3-4 hours, and then boil it in the same water. Add chopped onion to it, oil,

sugar, salt and some vinegar. Mix everything properly. Sprinkle your salad with a grated cheese

and chopped parsley before giving.


Spicy cabbage salad

This salad in Korean style is a great snack! It will fit

for family dinners if you have not much time and money for preparing something. It is a good

addition for the main dish, because it is very much light. Its preparing doesn’t need many efforts.

In order to prepare it you need:

- 300 g of cabbage or lettuce

- 6-8 leaves of green onion

- 2 cloves of garlic

- olive oil for seasoning

- 5 g of paprika

- 5 g of sugar

- 10-15 milliliter of apple vinegar

- dill, salt and pepper to taste

Preparing. Cut salad or lettuce into short strips, sprinkle with salt and grind it with the help of

hand. After that put it to the separate bowl, sprinkle with vinegar a little and put aside for 15

minutes. Crush garlic with a press, onion leaves chop with knife, mix them together and tamp

it to a homogeneous paste. Mix cabbage with this paste, add sugar, the remains of vinegar, oil

and mix again. Put this salad to a salad bowl and decorate with chopped dill. You can serve it up

right after preparing.


Fresh cabbage and chicken salad


This salad is very much light and dietary, but it is really tasty at the same time. You can include

it in the diet even if you watch weight or if you want to lose a couple of kilograms.

Ingredients:

- 350 g of fresh cabbage

- 450 g of chicken meat

- 100 g of cheese

- salt

- crackers

- mayonnaise

Preparing. Chop cabbage; press it by hands, in order to make it softer. Boil chicken and cut it in

dice. Grate hard cheese. Then you have to mix all the ingredients, salt them a little and season it

with mayonnaise. It is also possible to add some garlic for better taste. The last thing to add is the

crackers.


Salad with shrimps, tomatoes and cucumbers

This is a delicious, dietary salad with vitamins. The main

ingredients are tomatoes, shrimps and cucumbers. Summer is coming and all we want something

fresh and vegetable. This salad is the thing you need.


Ingredients:

- 6-8 caridean shrimps

- 1 fresh cucumber

- 1 tomato

- 1 spoonful of lemon juice

- olive oil

- salt, pepper

Preparing process. Boil shrimps, cut into halves or leave them whole. Cucumber should be

sliced (don’t peel it). Tomato has to be sliced too. Mix all the ingredients, salt and pepper them.

Add a spoonful of lemon juice. Season your salad with the olive oil and mix again.



About the author
Sarah Hall is sure that if a person has enough courage to be successful, nothing can prevent him/her from gaining success. Sarah is fond of writing for blogs and websites, she does it with passion and strong faith in her skills. This is the secret of her wonderful writing talent. Find Sarah on <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/105017393452918527353?rel=author">Google+</a>|<a href="http://classycustomwriting.com/"> http://classycustomwriting.com/</a>


Continue Reading

Friday 16 May 2014

Coriander Cashewnut Chicken

This is a very simple and amazing recipe which can be made in jiffy and highly flavorful to serve your guest to impress them. You should try this for sure!~!



Hellow Ladies Its Aara Again Back To Blogging And Im Really Glad to be Around U Guys!!
Yea ofcourse it was a very long break! But I guess it was for gud. I missed all ur updates and wish I catch up all one by one!

Starting With this wonderful recipe I tried recently. Hope U Guys Like It!! If You are Non-Vegetarian I will Highly recommend you to try this out at least once :)

Ingredients
Chicken -750gms
Ginger Garlic Paste – 1tbsp
Coriander Leaves – 1 cup Tightly Pack
Onion – 2-3 Sliced
Green Chilies – 4-5 depending upon your taste
Cashew nuts – 1/4th cup
Oil – 2-3 tbsp
Curd / Milk - 1cup
Lemon Juice Little If using milk
Salt to taste

Method:
-        -  Marinate Chicken Pieces with Ginger Garlic paste and 1/2tsp salt for minimum 1 or 2 hrs this makes chicken be soft and get cooked quick.
-        -  Heat oil in a kadai/wok and sauté onions and cashew nuts cook till onions are translucent
-        -  Now in a mixer Jar add translucent onions, cashew nuts, coriander and chilies grind it to smooth paste. Use a little water if needed
-        - Add this coriander paste back to the pan , add chicken to it close the lid and let it cook in medium flame for 5 mins.
-       -   Chicken will be tender by now. Add whisked Thicken yogurt and mix it well. If using milk add little lemon juice to give it a little tang to the gravy!
-         - Check for salt and adjust let it cook for another 5 -7 mins till you get a gud gravy consistency and chicken is coating well around with the coriander sauce
-         - Your Coriander Chicken Gravy Is ready!!
-         Serve it hot with White Rice / Pulao / Nan / Parathas / Roti It really goes well with anything!!



Notes:
-         - Marinating Chicken is optional But it lets remains chicken soft and juicy!! If U R in hurry Use chicken just like that no issue that will not make a difference to gravy.
-         - Cashew nut will not give its own taste but will help to thicken gravy and give a gud texture.
     - Use 4-5 green chillies 1st if u need more spice u can add slit green chillies while cooking and remove it later while serving
-         - Make sure u add salt just mildly, if more salt is added it might spoil the taste and there is no means to make the adjustment.
-         - After adding milk or curd the color of gravy will turn light green. If u want a darker side of green color you can use artificial green food color!! But I insist be neutral more naturally it is served the better enjoyed!!
-         - If u don’t have cashew nuts or u feel nuts will make it high caloric dish,  you can easily thicken the gravy at the end point by replacing cashew nuts with some corn flour paste!!

Impression:
I served it with coconut rice and it really went too well with Phulkas also!!
It was just so perfect!! we had sudden guests they too liked it a lot except for salt level which my uncle felt was a little high (he in takes less salt) I was not able to adjust and make it mild!! So be careful with adding salt!!
Otherwise this dish is a repeater for me! Im surely gonna make this again and again whenever possible J
If u got the ingredients just go with giving it a try!! Im sure u’ll love it too!!


Continue Reading

About Us

Designed By Seo Blogger Templates- Published By Gooyaabi Templates