COCONUT CHOCOCHIP CUPCAKE

With a grown up teen at home, I always have to keep a good stock of snacks for him. Kids of all age are fond of snackers rather than the main meals. Mine will not have his rice lovingly unless it is accompanied by chicken / mutton / prawns / boneless fish steaks / paneer. He is in a 'Hungry Kya' mode always. Mamma has to prepare few kinds of snackers for him, he loves to have them from time to time. Mamma does it with utmost pleasure because cooking is an activity she enjoys. The pleasure of doing something for our own is immeasurable. 

These days a thought disturbs me a lot. In few years the son will be away from home.... for studies, job, how would mamma survive then? Would I stop blogging then? How can mamma cook and eat things that he loves without him. The thought itself paralyses me. But without cooking, I would have nothing to do, I cannot live my life on a couch, that is such fruitless, also I love to eat. Anyway the senior at home does not want to eat much these days. May be the two of us will retire from the worldly crowd and tour amidst the nature most of the time.

I prefer doing muffins / cup cakes because the preparation and cooking time is less. I love that because I am a lazy cook. I am not innovative, I need to hire ideas for cooking. This recipe of a chocochip cupcake did I get from Allrecipes.com posted by someone named Janice. Thanks to Janice for the easy to do recipe which will be a hit with the kids. My contribution to the cup cake is the use of desiccated coconut which I had at home and I wished to use in it. I am not fond of chocolate but a packet full of chocochips had been gifted by a friend. Let us do it.

The above one was what I baked and captured originally. Presently it is June, 2024; the son has left home and we do not enjoy chocolate, neither I wish to bake with choco-chip & choco-rice. I bought a small pack of Hershey's Kisses FOR 2.50$ from the Japan Home and used it. It went down.

INGREDIENTS :

All Purpose Flour : 1 coffee mug
Sugar : 1/2 small tea cup + 2 tsp [I used Brown Sugar]
Baking Powder : 1/3 tsp
Milk : 1 small tea cup
Egg : 2
Oil : 1/2 small tea cup
Choco Chip : 3/4cup [I used Hershey's Kisses]
Desiccated Coconut : 2-3 tbsp

Vanilla Essence : 1 tsp

METHOD :

Preheat the oven to 160*C placing the low height wired stool inside. This is the set temperature in my convection mode microwave oven.

In a small bowl, take the desiccated coconut and 2 tsp of brown sugar, mix well and keep aside.

In a separate bowl, take the flour, baking powder and mix well.

Take the cup of sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla essence and milk in a bowl and beat well taking in a blender. I think I used a little more of milk than required, be careful please.

Add together the wet and dry mixes. Just fold in but do not beat. The batter has to have lumps. Add half of the choco chips to the batter and mix lightly.

Place the aluminium foil cups on an ovenproof plate. Pour 1/4 of the batter. Sprinkle the coconut-brown sugar mix.

Pour the batter again till half. Sprinkle with coconut-brownsugar mix. Add few chocochips on the top. I used minimum chocolate stuffs.

Bake at 160* for 20 minutes. Enjoy the soft cup cakes with your choice of beverage.

DUBKI WALE ALOO OF MATHURA WITH HING ER KOCHURI

This was in my to do list for long. The word Dubki Wale Aloo was alluring me like anything. Whether we are allowed to have it or not, the majority of us love to have it, in any form. Whether it is a curry or mashed or fry, we love it. I think it holds true with regards to the entire world, only the way of cooking is different. I stopped by this recipe while surfing the net, the experience was quite enriching. Many have made their own contribution to the recipe. The authenticity may not be retained always because each has   his or her own addition and subtraction to a recipe. On the contrary, we get to learn a lot. Bringing innovations in an already existing recipe is a great thing to me.

To get an authentic feel and taste, we really need to be in Mathura itself. We need to stop by a road side shop, sit on the wooden bench and enjoy Mathura ke Dubki Wale Aloo with hot pooris. While reading the recipes, I was already in Mathura in my dreams, the birth place of Lord Krishna. Myth or truth is not important here as much as the faith or belief. I don't like arguments, perhaps because of my escapist nature. I just stick to my belief / faith. 

I was only 8 years old when I visited Mathura, remotely remember the temples I visited. I might have tasted dubki wale aloo but I do not remember. After going through the recipes, I really wish to visit once again. For my love of history, I love to visit the ancient cities, read and learn about them, even listen to the myths from the locals that have come down for generations and imagine myself in that era. I prepared this Mathura ke dubki wale aloo with a little of changes. I cannot always take the strong smell of ginger powder, skipped it. I served it with Hing Kachuri / Asafoetida flavoured Lentil Stuffed Puffed Bread!

INGREDIENTS :[for the puffed bread / kochuri]

Refined Flour : 1 coffee mug

Semolina : 1/4 or a little of a coffee mug
Urad Dal / Skinless Split Black Gram Dal : 1 small cup
Salt : As required
Green Chilli : 2
Cumin Seeds : 2pinches
Turmeric Powder : 1/2tsp
Red Chilli Powder : 1/4tsp
Asafoetida : 2 pinches
Oil : As much required to deep fry the puffed bread

INGREDIENTS :[for the potato curry]

Potato : 1 or 2 big
Asafoetida : 2 pinches
Cumin Seeds : 1pinch
Fennel Seeds : 1pinch

Methi Seed : 2 pinches
Dry Red Chilli : 2[halved]
Green Chilli : 2[slitted or chopped]
Cumin Powder : 1/4tsp
Coriander Powder : 1/2tsp
Dry Mango Powder : 1/2tsp

Garam Masala Powder
Coriander Leaves : 1sprig[chopped]

Refined Flour : 1 tbsp
Oil : 1tbsp

METHOD : 

Soak the urad dal / beulir dal in enough of hot water for 2 hours.

Wash & boil the potatoes. Let cool. Chop and rub with salt n turmeric.

Heat the oil in a wok. Temper with the asafoetida, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, fenugreek seeds, chopped green chillies and the halved dry red chillies. I forgot to add the dry red chillies! 

Add the potato pieces. Fold in well. Thereafter, add the cumin+dry mango+coriander+garam masala+turmeric powders, salt as required. Stir for a minute.

Add a big cup of water. Let boil for 3-4 minutes. Mix together the refined flour and half small teacup of water! Add the chopped coriander leaves, refined flour mixed water and stir! Switch off the gas stove after 1/2 a minute.

Coming to the poori, we will take both the semolina & refined flour, salt & a little of oil in a bowl. Then we will rub well. We will add water little by little and form a soft yet firm dough. 

We will tear off small portions, smoothen between the palms! We will cover the bowl with a moist cloth and keep aside for half an hour. 

Drain the water from the soaked dal and grind into a coarse paste adding the green chillies. Heat the oil in a wok and temper with the asafoetida, cumin seeds. 

We will add the dal paste, cumin and coriander powders, the red chilli powder, salt! We will fry until it dries up. Once done, let it cool. 

Make space in the middle of each of the balls and fill in with the dal stuffing. 

Close the balls and with help of the rolling pin shape into poori.

Heat enough oil in a wok. Fry each poori well on both the sides, they should be puffy.

Enjoy the combo meal fresh & hot!

THREE REGULAR HEALTHY VEGGIES

These recipes are closer to the heart. I have grown up eating these kind of veggies, may be I did not enjoy having them earlier as much as I do now. The Bengali Homes do cook these. In the present day, I indeed cook them with a lot of love, they take me down the memory lane to a big kitchen, brass n steel utensils, a mud oven, wood and coal to keep the fire on, a sweaty face, the tinkling of the bangles. This was the scenario in all of middle class homes. These ladies were less demanding, they believed in giving alone. 

Coming to the present, I see we have much of demands, when I get a microwave I ask for a convection mode, a separate griller, a built in oven, modular kitchen, and the list is on. The good thing is that I cook the simplest of the dishes till date and they shall remain compiled in my blog. Whether there is any taker or not, they will be there for the future generation. If my daughter-in-law stops by some day, I will be too happy. 

Oh, these days how much I dream of a cute girl taking care of my son. She has to shower the son with love and care and vice-verse. When we visit them or they visit us, she has to be cordial and nice towards us. Yes, I would wish to spend few months every year with them. Before I go off the track, I must dive straight into compiling the recipes. Thats what I am here for. Let us do them together.

                                                                   KUMRO BOTI

INGREDIENTS : [FOR THE KUMRO BOTI]

Pumpkin : 1/2 of a medium size
Dry Red Chilli : 1
Green Chilli : 2[slitted]
Nigella Seeds : 1/4spoon [kalonji / kalojeerey]

Bayleaf : 1
Turmeric Powder : 1/2tsp
Salt : As required
Sugar : 1/4spoon [optional]
Oil : 1tbsp [preferably mustard]

METHOD :

Peel and cut the pumpkin into cubes. Wash thoroughly. Rub with some salt and turmeric.

Heat the oil in a wok. Temper with the bayleaf, kalonji and the halved dry red chilli. Add the pumpkin pieces.

Stir and cover cook at medium to low heat till half done. Sprinkle a little of water every 3-4 minutes until done.

Remove the cover, add the sugar and slitted green chillies.

Stir and cook uncovered until done.

                           BORBOTI ALOOR TARKARI

INGREDIENTS : [FOR THE BORBOTI ALOO R TARKARI]

Long Bean : 6-7
Potato : 1
Nigella Seeds [kalonji] : 1/4tsp [alternatively cumin seeds]
Dry Red Chilli : 2-3 [halved]
Salt : As required
Turmeric Powder : 1/4 tsp
Red Chilli Powder : 1/4 tsp
Sugar : 1/4tsp [optional]

Bayleaf : 1
Oil : 1tbsp [preferably mustard]

METHOD :

Cut the long beans length wise discarding the 2 ends. Peel off the potatoes and cut length wise too.

Take both the veggies in a bowl, wash and rub with salt and turmeric. Keep aside for 10 minutes.

Heat the oil in a wok. Temper with the kalonji , bayleaf and halved dry red chillies.

Add the veggies, stir and cover cook at low heat till half done. Sprinkle water little by little every 3-4 minutes. Stir every minute so that it does not burn.

Remove the cover once 80% is done. Add the sugar if you want. Stir and let cook until done stirring every minute gently.

                                       PUISHAK KUMRO

INGREDIENTS : [FOR THE PUISHAK KUMRO]

Malabar Spinach : A bunch [puishak/slippery greens]
Pumpkin : 1/4 of a medium sized
Potato : 1
Salt : As Required
Turmeric Powder : 1tsp
Dry Red Chilli : 2[halved]
Green Chilli : 2[slitted]
Panchphoron[Bengali] : 1/4tsp[an equal amount of cumin, nigella,fenugreek, fennel and wild celery seeds]
Sugar : 1/2tsp[optional]

Bayleaf : 1
Oil : 2tbsp

METHOD :

Peel and cut the potato and pumpkin into big cubes. Was and rub with some salt and turmeric.

Chop the Malabar spinach big discarding the end of each of the stick. Wash nicely and apply a little of salt.

Heat the oil in a wok. Temper with the panchphoron and halved dry red chilli. Add the marinated potato and pumpkin pieces.

Stir and cover cook until 60% done stirring every 3-4 minutes. The vegetables would release water, we need not add water.

Remove the cover and add the Malabar spinach and slitted green chillies. Stir and let cook without covering for 3-4 minutes.

Add the sugar. Stir and let cook for a minute.

Enjoy it with steamed rice or roti.

PANEER STUFFED POTATO KOFTA CURRY

Koftas are a favourite with us. Done with various ingredients, it adds a special touch to the dish. I call it a delightful vegetarian dish.... classy, tasty. Paneer do I always stock in the freezer. The other day, a little of paneer was left in the refrigerator. I was not in the mood to go out and fetch it either. Though I am not good with ideas, these are the situations when ideas pop up on our minds, I am against food wastage. Perhaps it was a Friday when my pantry was almost empty. I could not think of a mixed-veg paneer masala as a vegetarian side. Hence, this idea of preparing a Paneer Stuffed Potato Kofta Curry popped up. I prepared this kofta curry for the first time and was happy with the outcome. Definitely it will be on my to do list on a regular basis. Though the process is a little time consuming, I felt it is worth the effort. I used store bought paneer, you can prepare it fresh at home. Let us do it.

INGREDIENTS : [for the stuffing]

Paneer [Indian Cottage Cheese] : 100gm

Chopped Green Chilli : 1/2 tsp

Cumin Seed : 2 pinches
Garam Masala : 1/4 tsp
Salt : A little
Sugar : 1/4 tsp

Oil : 1 tsp

INGREDIENTS : [for the coverage]

Potato : 2

Cornflour : 1 tbsp
Chilli Powder : 1/2 tsp
Cumin Powder : 1/2 tsp
Coriander Powder : 1/4 tsp
Salt : As required

Oil : 1 tbsp

INGREDIENTS : [The Final Level]

Tomato : 1
Plain Yogurt : 2 tbsp
Ginger Paste : 1tsp
Cumin Powder : 1tsp
Coriander Powder : 1/2tsp
Chilli Powder : 1tsp
Turmeric Powder : 1/2tsp
Cinnamon Stick : 1 two inch length

Green Cardamom : 2

Cloves : 2

Bayleaf : 1
Garam Masala Powder : 1/2 tsp
Salt : As required
Oil : 2 tsp

METHOD :

Take the paneer in a bowl. Mash it. Heat the oil in a wok, temper it with the washed and chopped green chillies and the cumin seeds. Add the mashed paneer and the spice powders, salt. Fold in well and cook for 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

Peel, wash, halve and boil the potatoes, let cool. Transfer the potatoes in a bowl, mash well. Add the oil, cornflour, cumin powder, coriander powder, chilli powder, salt. Mash together well.

Prepare balls with the potato mix. Make pockets. Fill in with the paneer mix. Close tight and shape as per your choice. You can fry them but I oven cooked them. 

I greased an oven proof plate with a little of oil, placed the stuffed koftas on it. Mine is a convection mode microwave oven. I did place the low height wired stool inside and on the top of it the plate. I cooked them at 160* at the microwave+grill combo-2 for 10 minutes.

For the curry, wash and chop the tomatoes. Whisk the yogurt. Heat the oil in a wok. Temper with the bayleaf and the cinnamon sticks, green cardamoms and the cloves.

Add the ginger paste. Fry for 2 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes. Saute until it melts.

Add the salt, turmeric, cumin, coriander and red chilli powders. Mix well. Add the beaten yogurt and stir till the spice mix separates from the oil. Add a small cup of water. Let simmer for 5-6 minutes.

Add the garam masala powder. Let cook for 2-3 minutes. Switch off the gas oven.

Arrange the koftas on a serving bowl. Pour the gravy over the koftas few minutes before having the dish. Enjoy with steamed rice, fried rice or the bread varieties.

NO BAKE YOGURT PANEER CAKE

This was in the to-do list for a long time. I look at the exotic cheese cakes everyday and keep on thinking I have to try these no bake desserts some day. Not familiar with this kind of desserts, I was always skeptical about trying them. After the relocation, we tasted them a couple of times and loved. However, I wished to prepare a desi version of it, a low caloric dessert that is in tune with our Indian / South Asian taste bud. 

Since I was doing it for the first time, I needed ideas about it, specially with regards to the measurement of the ingredients. While surfing, I came across a number of recipes on yogurt cake. I largely drew inspiration from similar recipes of saffronstreaks and spiceupthecurry. 

Since I was doing it for the first time I did not take the risk of not using the gelatin powder. I think the Agar Agar powder could have been an alternative to the gelatin. What I loved about this dessert is that it is hassle free and I could do it with everything available at home. The addition of chopped fruits is optional. I had some, so I added, it can be skipped. Let us do it.

INGREDIENTS :

Yogurt : 200ml [I used Greek Yogurt]
Paneer [Indian Cottage Cheese] : 100gm
Sugar : 1/2 small cup [adjust as per your taste]
Biscuit : 10-12 medium sized [I used digestive oats biscuits]
Butter : 1/4 small cup
Gelatin Powder : 2 tsp
Pineapple[chopped] : 2tbsp [optional]
Pomegranate : 1tbsp [optional]

METHOD :

Take the yogurt and sugar in a bowl and whisk well for 2 minutes. Good if we can strain the water from the yogurt. 

Crumble the paneer and keep rubbing for 2-3 minutes. Add to the yogurt and mix well with a spoon.

Take 4-5 tbsp of water in a bowl and add the gelatin powder to it. Mix well and microwave at low for 1 & 1/2 minute. Add to the yogurt mix and fold in well.

In a grinder, grind the biscuits into a coarse powder. Melt the butter and add to it. Pulse once, mix well taking in a bowl.

Take a plate and place a cake ring just in the middle. Transfer the biscuit-butter mix inside the ring and press it with your hand.

Add the fruits to the yogurt-paneer mix if you are using it. Pour the mix inside the ring. Refrigerate for 4-5 hours.

Take out, insert a knife on the inner side of the ring to loosen a bit. Take out the ring carefully.

Serve immediately. The leftovers, if any should be refrigerated again and had within 2 days.

MIXED FRUIT SALSA

I prepared it for myself and loved it immensely. I did not have any kind of chips with it, it is for the others. As a healthy lunch or as an appetiser, it is a delight either way. Just back from a trip from my hometown, I need to shed few kilos. It is not a magic, we need to work hard on it. This urge takes me on a wonderful tour of so many healthy recipes posted by the talented chefs. I have come across good recipes of salads and salsas. What I do not prefer is using the store bought salad dressings. What I love about salsa is that it can be done simply and we can bring innovations in it. The mix and match option works here well. Today, I prepared a mixed fruit salsa as I had some fruits in stock. Everything has a shelf life. We better  use them up wisely and in time. The fruits I used here are pomegranate, orange, apple, cucumber. It was fun doing it in minutes.

INGREDIENTS :

Orange : 1small
Pomegranate : 1/2small cup
Apple : 1small
Cucumber : 1medium[i used the crunchy Japanese one]
Coriander Leaves :1tbsp[chopped]
Green Chilli : 1[chopped]
Onion : 1small[chopped]
Lemon Zest : 1/2tsp
Lemon Juice : 1tbsp
Salt : A pinch
Sugar : 1/4tsp

METHOD :

Wash all of the fruits. Peel the orange and cut into small pieces, discard the seeds. Cut the other fruits into small pieces. Peel and extract the pomegranate seeds.

Peel, wash and chop the onion. Wash and chop the coriander leaves and green chillies.

Prepare 1 tea spoon of lemon zest and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice from a medium sized lemon.

Take everything in a serving bowl and toss well. A little of tamarind juice should also do justice.

 

It is to be had fresh whether we serve it with chips or have it just like that. It is quite filling.