Matari or Salted Crackers; For my New Friend

Recently, I met an German Traveller in Agra, Mr. Benny a Good Friend of Mine now, and we talked about various Cultural diversities and also Sweets and Snacks during Festivals! So for him, A simple yet Delicious Snack Recipe

Mataris are similar to salted crisp crackers and are a very popular afternoon snack. Traditionally, Mataris are served with spicy pickles.

Ingredients:

*2 cups All Purpose flour (Refined flour or maida)

*1/2  cup Sooji (semolina flour)

*1 teaspoon salt

*1/2 teaspoon ajwain

*4 tablespoons oil

*3/4 cup lukewarm water (use as needed)

*Oil to fry

Method

1- Mix all the ingredients except the water.

2- Add the water little at a time, kneading into a firm dough.

3- Cover the dough and set aside for 15 minutes or more.

5- Roll the dough with the Help of Rolling Pin of a Width of around 1/2inch, and then with the help of Knife cut the dough into 1/2inch, and then into Parallelograms.

6-  Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium heat.

7- The frying pan should have atleast 1 & 1/2 inch of oil. To check if the oil is ready, put a small piece of dough in the oil. The dough should make the oil sizzle and come up slowly.

8- Fry a few Mataris at a time. Make sure to place just enough Mataris to cover the frying oil.

9- Fry the Mataris until both sides are a light golden-brown.

Tips:

*Mathris can be stored for a couple of months in airtight containers.

*If the mathris are cooked on high heat, they will be soft.

The Maharashtrian Snack- "Bada Pav"

Vada Pav Recipe

Back in 2008, i visited Ahmednagar, and one evening ate Vada Pavs with Fried Green Chilly and Green Chutneys as an Accompaniment in the Local Market. Usually, cantonments does not have any Snack Corner so does in our Cannt. too, so i was very eager to try Vada Pavs at Home. I used Green Chutney as my Side Dish, and honestly that Wasn't prepared by me. Don't forget to  Like Us on Facebook!

Ingredients

Potato	2
Turmeric	1/8 tsp
Green chillies	2
Garlic	2 flakes
Salt	As needed
For  Outer covering
Besan flour	1/4 cup
Rice flour	1 tblsp
Turmeric	2 pinches
Cooking soda	A pinch
Salt Oil	as needed For Frying

Method

1. Parboil potatoes, peel the skin and mash them.Chop garlic and green chillies finely.
2. Heat oil in a pan and Fry Curry Leaves, Asafoetida .Add garlic, green chillies, turmeric,salt and give it a fry. Add the mashed potato and mix well. Stir fry.


3. Cool down and divide into 6 and make balls.Make a thick batter with gram flour,rice flour,turmeric and salt,adding little water.


4. Heat kadai with oil for deep frying. Coat the potato balls with the Besan batter and fry them until golden brown in all the sides.


5. Drain in paper towel.


6. To arrange the vada and pav , slit the buns to two,leaving one side still in contact.Apply green in the inner sides of the buns.


7. Keep the vada we made and close the bun. Enjoy the big bite with Chutney! :)

Notes

• I used butter rolls as pav buns for this.

"Eggless Pancakes Recipe"

Since the POTUS Mr. Barack Obama in India, so we decided to post American Breakfast! This was my first Pancakes, and they was delicious. I has seen in Hollywood Movies and they seems to be delicious and my Expectations was Right they are actually Delicious. My recipe is Simple, easy to prepare and No Doubt Delicious , follow this simple Recipe and Enjoy an Continental Breakfast on this Republic Day. And HAPPY REPUBLIC DAY!

Ingredients

All purpose flour/ plain flour(Maida)	1 cup
Milk	1 cup
Brown or white sugar	1 tblsp
Salt	1/2 tsp
Oil	1 tblsp
Baking powder	1 tblsp
Butter and honey	For topping

Method

1. Mix flour,baking powder, salt and sugar with the whisk. Add milk along with oil and mix gently. Set aside for 10 minutes.
2. After 10 minutes again give it a mix and heat an iron skillet (dosa pan) until it gets hot. Switch off the stove and leave it for 5 minutes. Again switch on the flame and put it in medium flame. Grease with butter and pour one big laddle full of batter carefully. Do not spread.
3. Wait until bubbles pop over the pancakes and the colour changes and flip carefully. Cook the other side for a minute and transfer to serving plate

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 NOTE-

•    If you heat the pan really hot and make the pancake immediately, the pancakes turn dark brown in colour. That’s why I have heated the pan and switched off for a while to bring the temperature medium. ( I saw this in a video in you tube)
• If the pan is too hot, the pancakes will have edges like flower. that is it wont be a perfect circle. So make sure to keep the heat medium

Chilly Paneer- An Indo Chinese Creation

Chilly Paneer

Recently Me and my Friend have Chilly Paneer at a Food Stall and we found it as Awesome dish. And we bought that home and ate ‘Naan’ with it. OMG! Believe me, it was Delicious Combo. The Smokiness flavor of Chilly Paneer with Soft Naan was an ‘Flavor Bomb’ to our Taste Buds, Ok, so let’s follow up with the Recipe! Although I tried my very Best to gain the same flavor of the Stall but I failed to make that Exact but somehow it was near! Ok so head up to the Recipe, and please don’t forget to Like us! J

Ingredients-

200gm- Cottage Cheese (Cut into 12mm Strips)

Oil- 2 tbsp

                        For Frying the Paneer-

¼ Cup- Corn flour

¼ Cup- Maida

½ tbsp- Black Pepper Powder

                              For the Gravy-

1 tbsp- Soya Sauce

1 tbsp- Ginger

2 tbsp- Garlic

2- tbsp.- Celery

¼ cup- Celery

2-3 Green Chilies (Cut into 25mm strips)

¼ cup- Capsicum

¾ to 1 cup Water

½ tbsp.- Vinegar

Salt and Sugar as Required

*For Corn flour Paste, dissolve Water with Cornflour in the Ratio of 3:1 respectively.

Method-         

                         Combine Corn Flour, Refined Flour, Pepper Powder and water to form a Smooth Batter in a Bowl

                         Coat the Paneer Pieces in the Batter and Deep Fry in Oil over High Flame till it becomes Golden Brown.

For the Gravy-

•                               Sauté Ginger, Garlic, Celery, Spring Onion and Chilies for 1-2 mins over High Flame
•                                 Add Capsicum and Sauté for further more seconds.
•                                Add Soya Sauce, Sugar, Corn flour Paste and Salt and allow to Boil
•                               Add Paneer and Mix Well, Garnish it with spring Onion.
•                              Serve with ‘Naan’ or ‘Fried Rice’.
•                               Note- I don’t use “Ajinomoto or MSG or Chinese Salt” as I don’t have and it is Harmful for Ladies and Children So I recommend you Not to use and its optional!
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Shahi Tukda Recipe

Recently, I ate Shahi Tukda in our College's Café and it was awesome, so i decided to Try at my Own, and concluded with this Simple recipe!

The Shahi Tukda Recipe is a simple sweet dish made with bread, milk, nuts and spices. It is a quick and easy dessert option when you are having unexpected guests over or even as a way to satiate
your sweet tooth on any given day.

Ingredients

1 litre milk

4 slices bread, each cut into 4 smaller triangles

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup ghee

1/2 cup water

1/2 teaspoon saffron (optional)

2 pods cardamom almonds and pistachios, finely chopped

Method

*To begin with, we will make the Rabri for the dish by boiling the milk in a heavy bottomed sauce pan on medium heat.

*Boil the milk till it is reduced to 1/4 of
the original quantity stirring occasionally.

*Once reduced in quantity, add in the sugar and cardamom to the milk and stir well until the sugar is dissolved.

*Once the sugar dissolves and the milk comes to a boil, turn off the heat and allow the milk to cool down a bit.

*Now we will proceed to make the sugar syrup. In a heavy bottomed sauce pan boil together about half cup of sugar in half cup water and add in the saffron
to it. Keep stirring until all the sugar dissolves and the water comes to a boil.

*Once the sugar syrup comes to a boil ; turn the heat to low and simmer the syrup until it reaches a single thread consistency.

*Next, in a medium sized pan, pour in the ghee and shallow fry the bread pieces till they turn light brown and crisp on both sides.

*Once the bread is crip, soak the fried bread slices in the prepared sugar syrup for about half a minute and place them in a serving platter.

*Pour the prepared rabri over the bread pieces and garnish with almonds and pistachios. Serve immediately or Serve Chilled!

*Some people also like to do 'Silver Work' on it, but I haven't! So that's up to you!

*Enjoy Cooking, Eat Tasty! :)

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"Paneer tikka masala - Restaurant style"

Paneer tikka masala

I recently visited to a Restaurant with my Grandparents and ordered Paneer Tikka Masala. Although it was good and we liked it So i thought to prepare it by Myself, and hence heres the Result, Apparently, my Gravy was too thick but it was Delicious and my Grandparents liked it! I referred to many Cook-Books and came out with this simple Recipe although its not that Simple :D , Enjoy! Heres the simple Recipe....

For the Paneer Tikka:

• 250 to 300 grams Paneer, cut into cubes or squares
• 1 medium green/red/yellow bell pepper, diced
• 1 medium onion, halved and the layers removed
• 6 tbsp thick yogurt
• ½ inch ginger + 2 small garlic, crushed to a smooth paste in mortar-pestle, about ½ tsp ginger-garlic paste
• 1 tsp lime juice
• ½ tsp red chili powder
• ½ tsp garam masala powder
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• a generous pinch of crushed saffron or saffron powder (optional)
• 1 tbsp besan/gram flour
• ½ tsp salt or as required

For the tikka masala/gravy/sauce/curry:

• 2 medium onions or 1 large onion, 100 gms, peeled and halved
• 3 medium tomatoes, 200 gms
• 3 to 4 garlic cloves + ½ inch ginger - crushed in a mortar-pestle to a paste. about 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
• 2 to 2.5 tbsp fresh full fat curd or yogurt- whisked well till smooth
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• ½ tsp cumin powder (optional)
• ½ tsp garam masala powder
• ½ tsp red chili powder or kashmiri red chili powder or deghi mirch
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder
• ½ tsp crushed kasuri methi
• ½ cup water or add as required
• 3 to 4 tbsp amul cream)
• 2 tbsp oil or 2 tbsp butter
• ½ to 1 tsp sugar (optional)
• a few coriander leaves for garnishing
• salt as required

INSTRUCTIONS

Making the grilled paneer tikka:

1. whisk the hung curd/yogurt till smooth in a large bowl. you can also use a really thick curd instead of hung curd.
2. add all the ginger-garlic paste, spice powders, corn starch or gram flour & salt. mix well.
3. add the paneer cubes, onions, bell pepper.
4. gently mix again so that the marination coats the paneer, onions and bell peppers evenly. cover the bowl & marinate for a minimum of 1 hour or overnight in the refrigerator.

Pan frying method: (i used frying as i don't have Oven)

1. heat about ½ tbsp oil in a pan. place the threaded paneer tikka with the skewers on the pan.
2. gently rotate the skewers, when one side is crisp and browned. keep on rotating till all the sides are browned. add more oil if required, while frying. keep the fried paneer tikka aside.

Preparing the tikka masala/gravy/sauce/curry:

1. boil water with a pinch of salt. add halved onions and tomatoes to the boiling water. cook for one or two minutes. switch off. cover and keep aside for 15 to 20 minutes. you can also add cashews to the hot water. adding cashews gives a creamier consistency with a nice sweetness. later drain and chop the onions and tomatoes roughly. its not necessary to blanch, but blanching reduces the cooking time later.
2. later chop the onions roughly and make a smooth fine paste in a grinder or blender.
3. peel and roughly chop the tomatoes. make a smooth puree of the tomatoes in the grinder or blender. keep both the onion & tomato puree aside.
4. whisk or beat the yogurt till smooth and keep aside. there should be no lumps in the yogurt and it should be beaten well.
5. in the same pan, heat 2 tbsp oil and then add the onion paste.
6. stir often and saute till the onions paste turns golden.
7. add ginger garlic paste and saute till the raw aroma of ginger-garlic goes away.
8. add the tomato puree. stir well and saute till you see fat leaving sides of the masala.
9. now add all the dry spice powders - turmeric, red chili powder, coriander powder and garam masala/tandoori masala.
10. stir well so that the spices are incorporated in the masala paste evenly.
11. now remove the pan from the fire. add beaten fresh curd/yogurt. removing the pan from fire, won't allow the yogurt to curdle. use full fat and fresh curd.
12. stir well. add water and salt. stir again.
13. simmer for 5 to 6 minutes or till the gravy thickens and you see fat floating on the top. you can keep the consistency from medium to slightly thick. the consistency can be altered by adding more or less water.
14. add cream and kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves). stir well and simmer on a low flame for a minute. check the taste and add more salt or cream if you prefer. you can also about ½ to 1 tsp of sugar for a light sweet taste.
15. then add the paneer tikka along with the veggies. stir again and switch off the flame.

Garnish it with Coriander Leaves, Serve Hot!

Enjoy it with naan and Jeera Rice! :)

Happy New year Folks! :) Enjoy this with Family or your partner!

"Eggless choco chip cookies recipe"

Prep Time: 10 mins    |  Cook time: 20 mins    | Makes: 16 cookies

Ingredients

All purpose flour	1 cup
Choco chip	1/4 cup
Sugar	6 tblsp
Butter(unsalted)	1/4 cup
Baking soda	1/4 tsp
Baking powder	1/2 tsp
Milk	1 tblsp
Vanilla essence	1/2 tsp

METHOD-

• Sieve / mix well the flour, baking soda and powder together. In another mixing bowl, take sugar and butter( at room temperature). Mean while pre heat oven to 170 deg. C.
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• Beat it until you get a creamy texture. I just did it with my whisk for some 4 -5 minutes. Add vanilla, choco chips, milk to it.
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• Add the mixed flour to it and gather everything to make a dough. Divide into desired number of balls. I made 6 jumbo and 8 medium sized cookies, so divided according to that. 
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• Add the mixed flour to it and gather everything to make a dough. Divide into desired number of balls. I made 6 jumbo and 8 medium sized cookies, so divided according to that. 
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• Flatten the balls over a lined cookie tray (with butter paper) with enough space in between as the cookie tend to expand. Baking time is around 15 – 20 minutes. Mine got baked at 18 minutes. So keep an eye after 15 minutes and bake until golden in colour.