Ricotta Cheese Kalakand

Ingredients
2 cups ricotta cheese, whole or part skim or skimmed
1 cup sweet condensed milk
1/2 tsp elaichi powder
1 tbsp ghee

Method:
1. Mix the ricotta cheese and condensed milk in heavy bottom pan.
2. Setting the stove on medium high, heat the above ingredients.
3. Halfway through, add elaichi powder and keep stirring the ingredients in the pan, till a golden brown Kalakand remains.
4. Grease a plate with ghee, spread the kalakand and let it cool. Garnish with nuts if interested and cut it into squares and enjoy.

The quantity of condensed milk can be increased if you like sweeter kalakand.

Baked Potato/Chick Peas Cutlet

Ingredients:
1 cup boiled chick peas
1 large boiled potato
1/2 cup onions, finely chopped
1/2 cup carrot, grated
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 tsp green chili, finely chopped
1 tsp garam masala
1/4 cup egg, beaten
1/2 tsp chat powder
1 tbsp oil
salt, as required

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 365F.
1. Mix and mash chick peas, boiled potato. Add onions, carrot, green chili, garam masala, chat powder, salt and mix thoroughly.
2. Add 1 tbsp oil. Make round balls and flatten them with fingers. Take the flattened ball, dip in beaten egg and then in the bread crumbs. Place it on a cookie sheet covered with greased aluminum foil. Follow the same for rest the cutlets.
3. Place the cookie sheet in the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes. Turn the cutlets around while baking in the oven and half way through the baking, spray some oil.
4. Enjoy the cutlets with some tamarind sauce.

Instant Oats Idli

Ingredients

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup coarse sooji ravva

1 cup fat free yougurt

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup shredded carrot

1 tsp chopped green chillies

curry leaves, as required

salt, as required

Method:

1. Dry roast the rolled oats in a pan. Allow them to cool and grind them coarsely to take care not to grind them completely to fine powder.

2. Mix the ground rolled oats and the coarse sooji ravva. This mixture can stored in an airtight container and can be used when required.

3. Take equal parts of the oats-sooji mixture and fat free yogurt and mix, add little water if required. Add shredded carrot, green chillies, curry leaves, baking soda and salt and mix.

4. Take idli moulds, grease the moulds and pour the batter into the moulds and cook them for 15 minutes until done.

5. Take the idlis out, drizzle little ghee and enjoy them with chutney of your choice.

Fruit and Nut Cookies

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup mixed dried fruits and walnuts

1 large egg

1/3 cup sugar

1 stick butter, at room temperature

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp red wine

1/2 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp orange zest

1/2 tsp nutmeg powder

1/2 tsp clove powder

1/4 tsp cinnamon powder

1/4 tsp salt

Method:

1. Take mixed dry fruits and walnuts into a bowl, add lemon juice, red wine and honey and mix them properly and close the bowl.

2. Leave them for couple of nights.

3. Preheat oven to 350F.

4. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar for 3-4 minutes. Add orange zest, vanilla extract, nutmeg, clove and cinnamon powder till smooth.

5. Add the egg and mix for another 1 minute.

6. Sift the flour to remove lumps and slowly add the flour to the above and mix slowly (I used a spatula from this point).

7. Also, add the soaked dry fruits and nuts along with any leftover juices.

8. Divide the cookie dough into three parts and shape them into logs and put them in a foil and close the foil tightly around the dough. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

9. Take the dough from the fridge, cut them into 1/2 inch ovals and arrange them on a cookie sheet covered with aluminum foil.

10. Bake them for 15-20 minutes and cool them off on a cooling rack.

I did these cookies for my husband before Valentines Day and he loved them. The cookies turned more chewy than crispy, so next time I will reduce the oven temperature to 325F and bake them for 25-30 minutes. I came across the recipe for these cookies at http://akshayapaatram.blogspot.com/2009/02/fruit-cake-cookies-eggless.html and tried them last weekend. I substituted ground flax seeds with 1 large egg, pecans with walnuts and increased couple of other ingredients and the cookies tasted awesome. Thanks Akshayapaatram for this recipe.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Ingredients

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup dark cocoa powder

1/2 stick butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 large eggs

1 tsp vinegar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 oz red food color

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. In a small bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder and salt to remove any lumps (dry ingredients).

3. In a separate bowl, mix together buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla extract and red food color (wet ingredients).

4. Beat sugar and butter for 3-5 minutes until smooth.

5. Crack and pour the eggs into the sugar-butter and mix for 1-2 minutes.

6. Slowly add and mix the dry ingredients and wet ingredients alternately on medium speed starting and ending with dry ingredients.

7. Pour the prepared batter into cupcake holders and bake for 20 minutes or until done.

After the cupcakes were done, cool them off on a rack. For the icing, I used cream cheese icing and they tasted moist and perfect. I took them to a beach party and they were devoured in minutes.

White Radish Paratha

Ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup water
2 cups white radish, grated
1 tsp ginger, grated
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp lime juice
oil, for frying parathas

Method:
1. Mix whole wheat flour and 1/2 tsp salt with 1/2 cup water.
2. In a separate bowl, mix the grated radish, ginger, red chilli powder, 1/2 tsp salt and lime juice and leave it for 15-30 minutes.
3. Squeeze out the excess water and set the grated radish aside. I used the squeezed out water to mix the whole wheat flour and it added extra flavor.
4. Take a small lemon sized flour ball and roll it into a circle. Take some grated radish and spread on half of the rolled paratha. Cover it with the remaining half of the paratha and roll gently to seal the radish mixture.
5. On a heated pan, place the paratha and fry it on both sides till golden brown with some oil.

Tastes good with some pickle or with curd.

Mirchi and Brinjal Bajji

Ingredients:

6 light green chillies (used for bajjis)

5 medium purple brinjals

1 cup besan powder

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp red chilly powder

1 tbsp tamarind paste

1 tbsp ajwain seeds

1 small onion, finely chopped

1/2 small tomato, finely chopped

1/4 bunch coriander, finely chopped

2 tbsp lime juice

oil, as needed for deep frying

salt, as required

Method:

1. Wash the light green chillies and boil them in water for 10 minutes to cook them a little. After boiling, cut them vertically on one side without completely halving it and then make a cut horizontally thus making a T shaped cut. The T shaped cut helps in putting the stuffing inside the chilli easily.

2. Mix tamarind paste and ajwain seeds. Add little water if required.

3. Stuff the cut green chillies with the above paste.

4. In a bowl mix together besan, chilly powder, salt and baking powder with some water. The besan should be flowy like dosa batter, not too thick not too thin.

5. In a pan heat the oil for deep frying. After the oil gets heated, slip the stuffed green chilly into the bowl with besan mixture, coat it completely with besan and drop it smoothly into the oil.

6. Fry the green chillies till they are golden brown. Repeat it with the rest of the chillies. Do not overcrowd the oil pan, it will result in reducing the heat of the oil and the bajji's wouldn't fry properly.

7. I had some besan mixture left over, so I quickly chopped the brinjals into half inch thick round slices, dipped them in besan and fried them in oil.

8. Mix the finely chopped onion, tomato, salt, coriander and lime juice in a separate bowl. Slit the fried bajji's vertically and stuff it with the above mixture.

Enjoy them hot with some tea.

Veggie and Egg Noodles

Ingredients:
1 pack maggi vegetable atta noodles
1 cup green bell pepper, sliced thinly
1/2 cup red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 cups green beans, chopped
1/3 cup green peas
1 cup carrots, thinly sliced
2 eggs
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp green chilli sauce
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
4 green chillies, sliced
1 inch ginger, chopped
4 garlic cloves
1 tbsp sesame seeds

Method:
1. In a pan boil water, once it starts boiling add the noodles. Allow them to boil for few minutes.
2. Drain the noodles, toss them with some olive oil and put aside.
3. In the same pan, add some oil and crack two eggs and scramble them and put aside.
4. In the same pan, add some oil, add sesame seeds, green chilli, ginger and garlic, let them fry for half a minute.
5. Add all the vegetables and stir fry them on high heat for a few minutes.
6. Add all the sauces and fry for couple of minutes.
7. Add the boiled noodles and scrambled egg to the veggies, toss them to mix properly.

Enjoy them hot!!

Orange Cake

Ingredients:
3 cups all purpose flour

3 large eggs

2 sticks of butter

1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 fresh orange juice

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

3 tbsp orange zest

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Cream the butter and sugar for 5 minutes or until

smooth.

3. Add sour cream, vanilla and eggs. Mix until combined.

4. In a separate bowl, sift the flour and salt to remove any lumps.

5. Mix the sifted flour to the wet ingredients, mix until smooth.

6. Add orange juice and orange zest and divide the cake dough between 2 greased baking pans.

7. Bake for 30 minutes or until done.

For the icing, I used store bought cream cheese.

I added some orange zest to the cream cheese to get

orange flavor. I made this cake recently for my friend's birthday party. The cake tasted fresh and yummy with orange flavor throughout. Do not skip the orange zest and fresh orange juice in the cake batter. The sour cream added moisture to the cake. We decorated it with sliced oranges and it looked and tasted divine.
There was some cake dough that was left after filling my two cake pans. I added some chocolate chips in it and put in a separate loaf pan. I absolutely loved the cake with the addition of chocolate chips.

Banana Walnut Bread with Date Paste

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup mashed banana
1/2 cup date paste
1/2 stick butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 eggs
2 tbsp fat free milk
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Combine the mashed banana and date paste with milk and mash to make a smooth paste.
3. In a bowl, hand mix the butter and banana-date paste. Add eggs and vanilla essence and mix for another 2 minutes. (Use a spatula to mix)
4. Sift the all purpose flour and salt to remove any lumps and slowly add these dry ingredients to the wet ingredients using a spatula.
5. After mixing the wet and dry ingredients, add the chopped walnuts.
6. Pour it into a baking pan and bake for 40-50 minutes until done.

Tastes delicious with a cup of coffee or by itself. We ate it as breakfast and it was quite filling.
Didn't miss the sugar at all, date paste and banana added just the right amount of sweetness.
Next time I will try this with wheat flour instead of all purpose flour.

Chickpea Salad

Ingredients:

1 can chick peas
1 cup chopped spinach

1 cup cubed cucumber
1/2 cup fresh corn
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped finely
2 tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp chaat masala
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp finely chopped coriander
salt, as required

Method:
1. Mix the chick peas, spinach, red bell pepper, coriander and red onion in a large bowl.
2. Add olive oil, lime juice, salt, pepper, chaat masala to the bowl and toss everything together.

Eat the salad with some hot soup or with some toasted bread.

Black Chana Curry

Ingredients:
2 cups black chana
2 big tomatoes, finely chopped
1 onion, thinly sliced
4 green chilli, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 cup light coconut milk
1 tsp jeera
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp dhana-jeera powder
1 tsp garam masala
Salt, as required
Curry Leaves
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp ghee

Method:
1. Soak black chana for 6-8 hours and then boil them in pressure cooker with 3 cups of water until 3 whistles.
2. Add 1 tbsp oil in a pan. After oil gets heated, add jeera and mustard seeds and allow them to pop.
3. Add tomato, garlic, dhana jeera powder, garam masala powder, curry leaves, salt and green chillies. Cook until tomato gets mushy and thick (5-8 minutes).
4. Add the boiled black chana and the coconut milk, mix and close with a lid. (If required add some water).
5. After another 5-8 minutes, take the curry into a bowl and in the same pan add ghee and thinly sliced onion, caramelize the onions till they turn brown in color and add them to the curry.

Tastes good with hot rotis or with rice. I got this recipe from the Ayurvedic Cookbook that I got as a present.