Best wishes for Ganesh Chaturthi - Ganapati Bappa Morya

Wishing all readers a happy and fulfilling Vinayaka Chaturthi. 

Let your life be blessed with joy and satisfaction.

Atta ki Halwa - How to make wheat flour pudding

Atte or atta ki halwa is a very popular sweet dish in North India and it is made during festival (for ex. Navaratri ) as well as daily dessert. Similar dish is served in Gurudwaras where it is called karah prashad but the proportions of Ghee is more (1:1:1 for wheat flour:sugar:ghee). However it is rich in calories as well as taste but once or twice we can set aside the calorie consciousness away, right? By the way, this is a vegan dish and if you use whole wheat flour then it is gluten-free as well. Without talking too much let us proceed to cook this wonderful dessert.

Preparation Time: - 5 min

Cooking Time: - 15 min

Servings: - 5~6 person ( depends on liking and consumption capacity )

Ingredients:- 

1. 1 cup atta (you can use whole wheat flour but I prefer the normal Indian wheat flour)
2. ½ cup ghee (clarified butter)
3. 1 cup sugar (If you are not a sugar lover as I am you may reduce the amount as per your taste)
4. 2 cups water
5. Few cashews and almonds
6. 1 tsp Cardamom powder or crushed whole green cardamom - optional
7. Few green raisins - optional

Preparation:-

1. Take a heavy bottomed non-stick wok or kadai and heat the ghee.                                                                    
2. Roast few cashews and almonds in the ghee and keep aside. If you use crushed green cardamom then roast that also with cashew and almond. If you use cardamom powder like me then no need to add it in this step.
3. Now add atta or Indian flour to the hot ghee and start roasting it.
4. In the meantime, pour sugar in water in a skillet.
5. Heat the mixture turning your burner on a medium flame and let the solution start boiling. Then put the burner in low flame and let it simmer.
6. Continue roasting the atta by stirring till its color changes to golden brown and a nice aroma gets generated.
7. Keep on stirring the flour to ensure even browning on all sides.
8. Now put the burner of sugar solution to high so that it starts to form bubbles.
9. Just then pour the sugar solution to the atta mixture.
10. Now start stirring viciously so that the mixture becomes smooth and no lumps are formed.
11. The mixture will absorb water and will thicken.
12. Continue stirring and when the mixture thickens to your liking sprinkle cardamom powder, stir again for few seconds and switch off the flame.
13. Now add the already roasted cashews, almonds and few raisins on top.
    

Your delicious atte ka halwa is ready to serve and eat it hot or warm.

You can eat it as standalone dessert or with Pooris. In fact poori - halwa is a popular combination in North India.

As always please feel free to comment, criticize and seek if any help is required. I am all ears.

Best wishes for India's 71st Independence Day to my readers and every Indian

Happy Independence Day to my readers and every Indian in the world

Mackerel fry - A quick starter dish

This time I am giving an easy and quick-to-prepare but yummy recipe of sea fish. When some guests are arriving suddenly this one would be handy for you. Please check it out:-

Preparation Time: - 30 min

Cooking Time: - 15 min

Servings: - 1 person

Ingredients:- 

1. 1 large piece of Mackerel fish ( approx. 150 gm)
2. ½ tsp Turmeric powder
3. 1 tsp lemon juice or Tamarind juice
4. ½ tsp Ginger Garlic paste
5. ½ tsp fennel seed powder
6. ½ tsp Coriander powder
7. ½ tsp Kashmiri Red Chili Powder
8. ½ tsp crushed Black pepper
9. ½ tsp of chopped coriander leaves for garnishing
10. 1 ½  tbsp Vegetable Oil ( I used Sunflower Oil )

Preparation:-

1. Wash the fish in warm water thoroughly, pat dry and rub with turmeric powder, ginger garlic paste, lemon juice, Kashmiri red chili powder, coriander powder, fennel seed powder and salt. Keep it marinated for 30 minutes.
2. Take a non-stick deep frying pan / kadai and heat the oil.
3. When the oil starts smoking, fry the fish.
4. When one side becomes brown then flip it to fry the other side. Please be cautious so that it does not burn the fish.
5. Once properly done put the fish on tissue paper. Sprinkle crushed black pepper.
6. Garnish with two slices of lemon and coriander leaves. You can put green chili also for garnishing only.

Enjoy this dish as starter with favorite sauce.

As always please feel free to comment, criticize and seek if any help is required. I am all ears.

Zomato Restaurant Review - Dominos Pizza, Whitefied Bangalore

We went to this outlet on Sunday evening and was surprised to find that only 3 tables were occupied. In fact, this one is not fit for dine-in as no parking space is available. Anyway, we ordered a BBQ Chicken Roasted Piza and a Margherita Pizza with single cheese topping. Additionally we had coke and choco lava cake. The service was found to be wanting as there was a single person manning the counter. She is doubling up as order verification inside. Hence there was delay in taking the order. Even the order was delivered quite late - almost 35 minutes after the placement. The quality of the food was good as they maintain the quality across outlets but the services is what disappointed us. A 3.5 rating from my side at best.

Happy Rakshabandhan - Best Wishes for the readers

Rakhi is a thread that binds two souls in a bond of joy forever. Happy Raksha Bandhan! to all my loving readers and their siblings

Postor Bora - Poppy seeds fritters

Poppy seeds or Khus Khus are a good source of unsaturated fatty acids as well as minerals like calcium, zinc and magnesium which contribute to healthy hair. Bengalis are fond of different dishes made out of poppy seeds. We call it Posto and several preparation are there. This one is a simple fry – widely known as Postor Bora. My husband likes it very much. Without wasting much time here is the recipe:-

Preparation Time: - 30 min

Cooking Time: - 15 min

Servings: - 2 persons

Ingredients:- 

1. 100 gm. Posto aka Poppy seeds
2. 1 small Onion finely chopped
3. 1 Green Chili chopped ( you can use more in number if your taste permits ) and one more slitted vertically for garnishing
4. 1 tbsp. Maida / All purpose flour / Besan ( Gram Flour)
5. Salt to taste
6. 2 tbsp Mustard oil (Since this is a Bengali authentic dish I prefer mustard oil but you can use any Vegetable Oil if you do not like the pungent smell of it)

 Preparation:-

1. Soak the posto or poppy seeds with a pinch of salt for 30 minutes. Now drain the water in a strainer to discard the impurities. Add a little bit of water and some chopped green chilies in a grinder. I did not use any chili here but you can use as per taste. Start grinding and add more water as needed so that the consistency of the paste is not too runny. Make a smooth paste and keep aside.
2. Chop the onion and green chili finely and keep aside.
   
3. Take a bowl to mix the poppy seeds paste with the onion pieces and few drops of mustard oil.
4. Add chopped green chili to it and mix well. I used one green chili as I am not much fond of chili but you can use more if your taste permits.
5. Add Maida or all purpose flour or besan to it. This is needed to bind the poppy seeds paste. I generally use all purpose flour but sometimes I use smashed boiled potato also as a healthy alternative. 
6. If you are sugar tooth like most of the bengalis then you can add a little bit of sugar here to the mixture.
7. Make 5 round and flat cakes (bora) out of the mixture.
8. Take a non-stick deep frying pan / kadai and heat the oil.
9. When the oil starts smoking, gently put the cakes on the pan one by one.
   
10. Turn the burner in medium heat and start frying.
11. Once it becomes brown on one side flip it to fry them equally on both sides.
    
12. Once the boras are done properly put them on tissue paper to drain the extra oil

Your delicious Postor Bora is ready to serve. Eat with hot steam rice.

 As always please feel free to comment, criticize and seek if any help is required. I am all ears.