As a Cook.

Lately i have been thinking about how i have grown up as a cook in last few years. If you have read here, i have been a tomboy till my graduation initial year and after that even i changed my look and style, i was or must say i am still a tomboy from heart. I hardly had cooked anything till my graduation(as i did my graduation from my home town and you always have the luxury of not doing anything and demanding more when you are at home). My mum and friends used to say that i cannot boil even water properly. Yes its true.I was a totally spoiled child and I really had bad, very very bad experiences whenever i tried something.

After the graduation i left home for the job in Mumbai and than realize how much i miss the home food. Thank god i got roommates like Latika and Sheetal  who are amazing cook and being in their company i also started cooking.I started with daal and rice and now i can prepare almost everything. This time when my parents visited us i prepared a few of my secret recipes, my mom was amazed how i got to learn all this cooking stuff. She knew that i generally cook but was not that sure that i can cook so well. Thank you so much girls. LOVE YOU SO MUCH.

Now its time for the home made spicy (Paneer) Veg Frankie that i  prepared last week. You can find the recipe on google but i still want to share it with you... ;)

Ingredients:

1. 1 medium Onion (finely diced)

2. 1-2 tomato (finely diced)

3. Garlic and Ginger  paste - 2 tbs

4. Green chilli - 2 (finely diced)

5. Cabbage- 60 gm (finely diced)
6. Paneer (Cheese ) cubes - 100 gm (optional)  

7. Maida(Rice Flour) - 1 cup

8. Milk - ½ cup   

9. Salt - As required

10 .Chilli powder - ½ tsp   
11. Coriander powder - ½ tsp   
12. Cumin powder - ½ tsp   
13. Cooking soda -¼ tsp

14. Butter - As required
15. garam masala - ½ tsp  

Directions:

1. Mix maida, cooking soda, salt, in milk to form a batter and keep it aside for 10 minutes.

2. Heat butter in a frying pan, add ginger-garlic paste, green chilli and cook for 2 mins.

3. Add onion, tomato, Cabbage, chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, some water and let the contents cook for some time.
4. add paneer if you want.

5. When the vegetables are cooked, remove the pan from the stove.

6. prepare small size chapati(bread ) from the dough and cook it for few seconds on both the sides(if should not get tight or crispy). Add some butter on both the sides.
7.Place the vegetable mixture in the chapati and roll it.
8. Wrap them in the tissue paper and serve Hot.

And Here comes the output of the recipe:

Every one has their own version of their recipe and we Indian (generally) loves spicy food. However you can update the recipe based on the availability of the vegetables and masala powders. Its really very flexible and taste yummmy..

So whats you guys doing over the weekend?

With Love

Swati

Love with Gobi Manchurian ♥♥♥♥

Hey people,
Howz you guys doing?
 I have a busy day but somehow managed to leave early from the office(very rare case as i always reach late .. hehehe). So i got some time to spend on TV(on weekdays) and of course for cooking and then i planned to get a surprise dinner treat for the husband.
My Husband love the Manchurian(although he dont like Chinese food but manchurian is exceptional) and so i thought of preparing the Gobi Manchurian for him. When He saw the the dinner, he was surprised(more surprised as i cook it after coming from work) and i love the smile he has. There cannot be anything better to get him Happy and I love to do it again and again....♥♥♥ . Lets not go much into our LOVE... ;)
Here is the recipe , if you want to prepare.

Ingredients:

1. 1 medium Gobhi (Cauliflower) broken into medium size florettes
2. 3/4 cup Flour (Maida) 
3. 1 tbsp Corn Flour 
4. Salt to taste 
5. 1 Chopped green chili
6. 1 Capsicum cut into medium pieces
7. 11/2 tbsp Garlic Paste
8. 11/2 tbsp Ginger Paste
9. 1 cup finely Chopped Onions 
10. Finely Chopped Coriander Leaves 
11. 1/4th tsp Ajinomoto 
12. 2 tbsp Soya Sauce 
13. 2-3 tbsp Tomato Ketchup 
14. 2 tbsp Oil
15. 1/2 tbsp Garam masala 
16. 1/2 tbsp chaat powder
17. salt as per taste

Directions:

1. Make a paste of maida, corn flour and salt using water.

2. Take a tsp. of ginger and garlic paste, add it to the paste. Add 1/2 tbsp salt and mix well. 

3. Dip the gobi florets in the paste and deep fry till golden brown. Keep aside.If you are left with some of the flour mixture , keep that aside.

4. Get the extra out out using the paper napkin.

5.  Heat oil in another pan and add the left ginger & garlic paste, chopped onions and green chili to it. Cook for 5mins  till it get brown
6. add Capsicum and cook for 5-10 mins.
7.  Now, mix aginomoto, soya sauce and tomato sauce to it.
8. Add the flour mixture, it will make the thick gravy for the manchurian.

9. Add fried Gobi kept aside and mix well. Cook it for 5 mins .
9. Garnish it with coriander leaves. Serve the gobi manchurian hot.

P.S. The recipe might be a bit spicy as i add the masala's to it. I love the spicy food and the taste reflects in all my cooking. If you do not like the spicy food, go ahead without the garam masala and chaat powder.

With Love 

Swati

Good Friday With Spicy Baby Potato

I am enjoying a luxurious weekend as I have got a Friday off too **smiles**. The week days are too hectic with home and work and even last few weekends were busy too... *sub, sub*... But finally i have got a long weekend and i have time to invest where i want too.... YEY YEY!!!
I have not tried something new in my kitchen since long. so today i started playing in my kitchen and tried the Spicy Baby Potato(i will say it try only coz i was preparing it for the first time.). It was yummy ... :)

Ingredients:
    8 baby potatoes peeled
    1/2 cup chopped onion
    1/2 tea spn cumin powder
    1/2 tea spn coriander powder
    2 tbl spn thick curd/yogurt
    1-2 tea spns chili powder
    1 tea spn ginger-garlic paste
    1 tbl spn lemon juice
    Oil
    Salt as per taste

Directions:
1. Prick with a fork or put some deep slit marks with a knife on all the potatoes.
2. Grind onions(preferably without water) to a smooth paste. Add onion paste and all other ingredients, except oil to the potatoes and mix well so that the potatoes get a thick coating of potatoes all over. The yogurt should be very thick so that the mixture remains thick.
3. Leave the potatoes for around 1hr.
4. Heat oil in a non stick pan and add the potatoes with the masala. Close the lid and let it cook on a low flame for around 15mins.
5. Preheat the oven at 350F for around 5mins. Take the potatoes in a greased bake ware and broil at 350F for around 10-15mins(till the coating has turned brownish).
6. Serve hot with lemon juice.


Benefits of Baby Potato :
* Baby potatoes are less in calories and naturally fat free. Thus, they can be part of low cal diets.
* When used with skin on, they are a good source of fibre. Fiber is essential to maintain body weight and is good for digestion. It also helps reduce existing cholesterol levels.
* They are a moderate source of vitamins, namely folate, Vitamin C, B1 and B6. These vitamins help in normal functioning of the nervous system and the heart, promotes healthy maintenance of bones, gums, teeth, and helps body resist infection and stress.
* They are also a good source of minerals like iron and potassium which are required for healthy functioning of all cells, nerves and body fluids of the body.
* It does not contain any cholesterol which helps reduce risk of heart disease.

Happy Good Friday to you all :)

I hope everyone has a nice weekend(as i am having)!

With Love

Swati