Raspberry jam (seedless)

                                                                               


I tried making raspberry jam at home and believe me the taste was really amazing ! What really struck me to make this jam was the vibrant colour of this raspberry jam which was also matched by its vibrant taste.

I have prepared seedless version of jam.You can also prepare jam along with seeds,but the thing is,raspberry seeds are a little annoying to chew.More than tasting the fruit,i keep biting into the seeds.Therefore, I really really prefer the seedless version.It is a little tiring to seperate fruit pulp from seeds but you'll know it's worth all the effort once you taste it.

Lemon juice is added to a jam recipe,it eliminates the need of adding pectin altogether;since lemon has got plenty of pectin in it.Moreover,it also balances the sweetness of fruits beautifully.


          Some of the best  ways you can use the jam are like

• Make a jam smoothie: blend your favorite jam with milk, fresh fruit, and yoghurt.
• Serve marmalade & cream cheese on crackers.
• Liven up any boring original cheesecake with a dollop of jam on top of the cheesecake.
• Spread it between cake layers.
• Gently pour over ice cream for an extra treat.
• A simple pancake or waffle topping
• It makes great gifts - especially homemade!
• Served up some jam with some sliced-up local fruit; simple, but delicious.
• Serve a blob of jam in a bowl of oatmeal for a comforting snack.
• Into plain yogurt add jam for flavoring according to your taste.
• Stir jam into icing for a different and yummy cake topping.
• Fill doughnuts!
• Make jam-filled butter cookies.
• Make a simple Jam Tart! 
• Make a batch of surprise muffins,half-fill the muffin cups, put in a dob of jam, and then cover the jam with more muffin mix.

          Ingredients

• 400g  Raspberries(wash and clean)
• 400g  Sugar
• 2-3 tsp Lemon juice

          Method of preparation 

• If using frozen raspberries, tip them in a wide heavy bottom pan and leave aside till the raspberries are completely thawed and are at room temperature. 
• Keep a small plate in the freezer.
• If using fresh raspberries, start from the next step.
• Put the raspberries in a wide heavy bottom pan,mash them using the masher place the pan on a medium flame and stir continuously, cook until the fruit softens.
• Once the berries are heated,reduce the heat to low and work in batches to strain out the seeds.I usually ladle 2-3 scoops of berries onto my sieve at a time, push them through, scrape the seeds into a separate bowl, and then scoop on another batch of berries.In short: mash, heat, scoop, strain, scrape, repeat.You need to keep straining berries until you have seedless juice.
• Repeat this process until you have used up all the raspberries.Add the sugar and the lemon juice to the mixture and mix well.
• Then place the pan on a medium flame and stir continuously, cook till the mixture thickens a little,it takes about 15 -20 minutes.
• Take the pan off the flame.Remove the platter from the freezer and drop just a little jam on it.
• Put the plate back in the freezer for 2-3 minutes, and then use your finger to test the cooled jam consistency.
• If you draw a line in the jam with your finger, the jam should not be runny enough to fill the line back in.
• Also wrinkles are formed on the surface of the jam, it's cooked and has reached the setting stage.
• Keep cooking the jam until it passes the cold plate test.
• Once the jam is ready, turn off the flame and once the jam cools down transfer the jam in a sterilized air tight glass container.Store it in the fridge.Use when required.

       
          Happy cooking !

Vegetable Biryani

A Classic vegetable biryani is a perfect dish for any occasion.Long grain basmati rice and assorted vegetables in a spicy masala and curd are cooked in alternate layers under dum to give you a final dish that is a treat to all of your senses.Whole spices, fragrant rice,nutritious veggies and the aromatic saffron blend together perfectly in this vegetable biryani recipe and that is the secret of a good dum biryani.

Whether veg or non-veg, a biryani is first and foremost a rice dish that stands or falls on the fluffiness of its rice,every grain should be separate and perfectly cooked. The choice of vegetables is largely up to you and what you have available.Vegetables are cooked in a yoghurt sauce, giving them a more curry-like consistency.

Although it’s perfectly possible to make a great biryani on the stove,it’s easier for the amateur to get good results in the oven,where the heat will be distributed more evenly,reducing the risk of the base layer sticking.The cooking vessel should be tightly sealed by dough or aluminium foil to prevent the escape of the steam that’s essential for aromatic tasty biryani.

       
         Ingredients (serves 4)

• Basmati Rice 1 1/2 cups
• Water as per requirement 
• Carrots 1/2 inch 20 pieces 20
• French beans 1/2 inch 15 pieces 
• Cauliflower 10-12 florets
• Green peas shelled 1 cup
• Potato cubes (made from 1 medium potato)
• Onion cubes (made from 1 medium onion)
• Salt to taste
• Green cardamons 2
• Black cardamom 1
• Cloves 5-6
• Black pepper(5-6)
• Cinnamon 1/2 inch stick
• Bay leaf 
• Caraway seeds (shahi jeera) 1/2 teaspoon
• Ginger-garlic paste 2 tablespoons
• Turmeric powder( 1/4 tsp)
• Red chilli powder( 1/2 tsp) 
• Coriander powder 1 tablespoon
• Yogurt( 1/2 cup)
• Saffron (kesar) a few strands
• Some milk for soaking saffron
• Garam masala powder 1 -2 teaspoon
• Fresh coriander leaves chopped 2 tablespoons
• Fresh mint leaves chopped 2 tablespoons
• Fried onion(for layering)
• 1-2 tablespoon Ghee (for layering)
• 3-4 tablespoon oil

          Method of preparation 

• Boil rice in four cups of salted boiling water with green cardamoms,black cardamom,cloves,cinnamon,pepper,caraway seeds,bayleaf until three-fourth done.Drain excess water and set aside.
• For making fried onion add oil in a wok and heat it,when the oil is heated up, add the sliced onions.Stir for a while,fry the onions on sim flame.Fry them until a golden brown color is observed.Keep stirring in between so that all the onions are fried well and evenly attain the golden brown color.When the onions are fried well strain them out.Place them on a tissue paper and spread them loosely.
• Soak saffron in some warm milk and keep it aside.
• Heat oil in a pan.Add onions and saute for a while,then add ginger garlic paste and saute again.Once this is done then add carrot, french beans,cauliflower florets,potato and green peas.
• Sprinkle salt,cover and cook on medium heat for two minutes. 
• Add turmeric powder,red chilli powder,coriander powder, yogurt and  garam masala and mix well.
• Simmer and cook for around 10 minutes.Add little water if required.Once the veggies are cooked switch off the flame and let it cool for a while.
• Last and important step is layering all the things.
• Arrange a layer of rice at the bottom.
• Over that arrange vegetables followed by another layer of rice. 
• Sprinkle garam masala,coriander leaves,mint leaves,ghee,fried onion and saffron soaked in milk.Arrange the remaining vegetables followed by the remaining rice.
• Arrange 2-3 layers similarly finally cover the pan with the aluminium foil/dough and then put the lid.
• Keep the pan on hot tawa/flat frying pan and cook for around 5-7 minutes on medium flame.
• You can also heat it in microwave by putting biryani in micowave safe pan for 5-7 minutes on High power.
• Let it stand for five minutes.Serve hot with curd raita.

         Happy cooking !

Homemade Rusk

Indian tea rusks are crunchy yet soft snack that's enjoyed by all age groups.
I love to enjoy it with my tea.In goa we call it as 'Fati biscuit'.A super easy way to make rusks is to bake your store bought slice bread,as rusk is basically twice baked crispy bread.Apply some butter on bread slices and place then in the oven till crisp but i wanted to try this recipe from scratch.I happen to see many recipes of a baked rusk which seemed very simple with very less ingredients.So without further waiting i gave it a try and it turned out to be superb.I have also tried making wholewheat pav recipe in the past.

In this recipe rusk is very lightly sweetened and flavored with cardamom.I have used equal proportion of all purpose flour and wheat flour to make healthier version of rusk.I hope you guys give this rusk recipe a try and enjoy homemade rusks with your tea.

         Ingredients (serves around 4-5 )

• 1 cup whole wheatflour
• 1 cups Maida( all purpose flour)
• 3 tablespoons milk powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons  sugar(in the flour) + 2tsp sugar(yeast proofing)
• ½ teaspoon cardamom powder(optional)
• 2-3 tablespoons oil
• Lukewarm water to knead the dough 
• 2 teaspoon active dry yeast
• Some milk for brushing 

                                                                             

Dough ready to transfer in baking pan

                                                                     

          Method of preparation 

• Take yeast in a bowl.Add 2 tsp sugar and around 2-3 tablespoons warm water, mix and set aside to activate.Yeast takes around 5-10 minutes to activate.
• You will know your yeast is proofed/active when it’s all bubbly and frothy on top.
• In another bowl mix all purpose flour,wheatflour, 3 tablespoon sugar,milk powder,cardamom powder and salt,mix well.Make a well in the center,add activated yeast and whisk well with an electric beater/by using hand.
• Add 2-3 tablespoon oil and warm water as required and knead for 8-10 minutes  to form a soft dough.
• At this point if you feel that the dough is little sticky then add little flour and knead again.
• Cover with a damp cloth/cling foil and let the dough rise for 1 hour in a warm place or till it doubles in size.
• Grease a baking tin with some butter/oil and dust with some flour.
• Transfer the dough onto worktop and knock back to release excess air.
• Transfer the dough into the greased baking tin and level it out.Cover with cling film/damp cloth and set aside to prove for 30 minutes.
• In the meantime preheat oven to 180° C.
• Brush some milk on top.Place the tin in the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.
• Remove from oven, cool and demould.
• Slice and bake again at 130° C for at least for 30 minutes by placing them nicely on baking tray.
• Keep turning the rusks in between for even baking.
• Let the rusks cool and then store in an airtight container.
• Serve with tea.

                                                                                     

Bread slices arranged on baking tray

          Note

• Always remember to choose a good brand of yeast and make sure to use lukewarm water for yeast activation.
• These milk rusks are very lightly sweetened,you may increase the amount of sugar if you like sweeter rusks.
• You can also add tutti frutti while making biscuits as per your choice.

          Happy baking !

Vanilla chocochip cupcakes (Eggless)

                                                                                     

Vanilla chocolate chip capcakes are my favorite ones.A super simple cupcakes made with simple ingredients.They are low on fuss,and need no embellishments.A cupcake goes great alongside a cup of coffee or tea.

After many trials and errors I can say this recipe is a sure shot success.Cupcakes will be perfectly soft,moist and spongy and it tastes simply great ! The chocolate chips are an easy way to add some oomph to a simple cake! The chocolate chip cupcake is best-suited for kids and for adults who are young at heart!


         Ingredients(makes around 12 regular size cupcakes)

• 1 and 1/2 cups(225 gms)-Maida/All purpose flour 
• 1 cup (250 ml) -Thick Curd/ Dahi 
• 3/4 cup (200 gms)- Castor Sugar 
• 1/2 tsp -Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
• 1 and 1/4 tsp - Baking powder  
• 1/2 cup (125 ml)-Oil
• 1 and 1/2 tsp-Vanilla essence
• 2-3 tablespoons Chocochips

          
         Method of preparation 

• Preheat oven to 180 deg C for 10mins and line cupcake moulds with paper.
• Sieve maida twice and keep aside. 
• Mx sugar and curd until sugar completely dissolves. 
• Add baking powder, baking soda to the mixture and mix well.
• Leave aside for 5 minutes and you can see the bubbles appearing.
• Now add vanilla essence, cooking oil and mix well.
• Next, slowly add maida in portions at a time and blend with above ingredients.
• Beat well with a whisk/hand blender until creamy and thick.
• Finally add chocochips to the mixture and preserve few for topping.
• Fill the mixture untill 3/4 th in the cupcake moulds.Put few chocochips on the top. 
• Bake in preheated oven at 180 degree C for 20-25 mins till a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. 
• When done, the cupcakes will be very lightly golden brown around the top edge.
• Cool completely on a rack.

          Note

• You  can use same level of softened butter instead of oil.
• Increase or decrease chocolate chips level as per  your taste.

                                                                       
         Happy baking !
                                                                                 

                                                                         

Homemade schezwan sauce

                                                                             

Schezwan is a style of Chinese cuisine originating from Sichuan province in southwestern China.Schezwan Sauce has bold flavours,especially the pungency and spiciness resulting from liberal use of garlic and chillies.

Schezwan Sauce is one such flavorful sauce which you can prepare at home.
Schezwan Sauce is used to prepare many Indo Chinese dishes like Schezwan Fried rice, Schezwan noodles, side dish for momos and other schezwan dishes.
This sauce comes very handy and you can make schezwan fried rice, noodles within 10-15 minutes.The schezwan sauce prepared at home is healthy as it's without preservatives etc.Taste and appearance of this sauce is almost like the one we eat in reastaurants.
 
         Ingredients

• 1/3 cup oil
• 15 Cloves garlic (finely chopped)
• 1 1/2 inch ginger (finely chopped)
• 4-5 onion shallots/1 medium size onion(minced)
• 20 Kashmiri Red Chilies (soaked in water for half an hour)
• 5 Bedgi Chillies (soaked in water for half an hour)
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 tsp pepper powder
• 2-3 tablespoons tomato ketchup
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• salt (as per taste)

          Method of preparation 

• Remove the stem part of red chillies, cut open and remove the seeds and soak them in hot water.
• Deseeding is optional, but chose to remove them to reduce the spicyness a bit.
• Soak red chillies atleast for 30mins with water till immersing level.
• Then drain red chillies and transfer it to a mixer.Add the drained water to the mixer.
• Grind it to a fine paste.Add water little by little and keep grinding till you get a smooth paste,Set aside.
• Heat oil in a pan and add garlic and ginger.
• Saute on a low flame till the raw aroma goes.(Be careful not to brown or burn the ginger garlic.)
• Add the minced onions and let them cook on a low flame. 
• Once the onions look like they are almost melting, add ground chillies, soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup, sugar, pepper powder,salt and 1/4 cup water.
• Bring this to a boil and simmer till the sauce thickens.
• Oil should have separated from the sides,and there should be some oil floating on top.
• Switch off the flame and let it cool.
• Once the sauce has completely cooled down, transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator.
• Use when required.

          Notes

• Adding more oil is mandatory, the oil should float on top as a layer.This increases the shelf life of the sauce.
• Cook till oil separates and starts to leave the sides of the pan.
• You can even remove the seeds of  red chillies to make it less spicy.
• The sauce should stay good atleast for 3-4 weeks if refrigerated.

          Happy cooking !

Homemade Blueberry ice cream (Eggless)

                                                                               

                                                                           
Summer is bounty time for fruits;especially fruits like blueberries,mango, jackfruit,raspberries and strawberries are abundantly available in the market.
We both love ice cream specially when it's homemade.I like to make ice creams at home as i think homemade ice creams are more healthy with no artificial  colors or thickening and emulsifying agents added.I have tried making butterscotch,chickoo, vanila and mango ice cream in the past.

Here in this post i present before you super delicious blueberry icecream(eggless). Though blueberries are rich in so many health benefits,still I don't like to eat just the fruit.This is my first attempt of making blueberry ice cream and considering that,the outcome is a huge success. I have used Homemade sweetened condensed milk for making this ice cream, condensed milk adds not only to sweetness but also to the richness of the ice cream. Do try and post your coments.

          Ingredients

• 2 cups blueberries
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1.5 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 tsp vanilla essence

          Method of preparation

• Wash the blueberries and clean them.
• Now take the blueberries and grind them in the blender.
• Strain this juice into a bowl,discarding the skins.
• Into the bowl containing blueberry juice add sugar and lemon juice.
• Now on the medium heat keep on stirring this mixture until it reduces to 3/4th.
• Switch off the gas and let it cool to room temperature.
• In a big bowl take whipping cream and whip it until it becomes light and fluffy.
• Then slowly add the sweetened condensed milk and whip it again for some time.  
• Then lastly add vanilla essence and blueberry sugar syrup that we prepared.
• Whip all the things nicely and the then transfer the mixture to container and cover the container.
• Let it set for minimum 8 hours in the freezer,after 8 hours scoop the ice cream in a bowl and serve chilled.

          Note

• I have used the fresh blueberries but you can use the frozen also.

         Happy cooking !

Batata fodi/kapa (Potato rava fry)

                                                                                 

Batata fodi is one of the quickest and tasty accompaniment for lunch or dinner.Favorite among kids and adult as well.Batata fodi,turns out spicy and crispy and goes very well as a side dish with a dal or a vegetarian curry and plain rice.I have also prepared it as veg starter for a potluck here in US.

Similar to the potato you can also prepare the fodi of brinjal,raw banana,ridge gourd,lady's finger,cauliflower etc. as per your choice using similar recipe.Although this dish looks very easy i have given some important tips in notes below to make perfect crispy fodi.

          Ingredients

• 1 potato(big size)
• 3-4 tbsp rava (rava should me mixed with half tsp each of turmeric powder and chilli powder)
• 2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp haldi powder
• salt to taste
• oil for frying

          Method

• Cut the potatoes into round of 1/4 inch thickness.
• Wash, and sprinkle salt, haldi powder and red chilli powder.Keep aside.
• Heat a  flat pan/tawa on a medium flame.
• Spread the sooji on a plate.
• Add 1/2 tsp haldi powder and 1/2 tsp of red chilli powder to the sooji and mix well.
• Take each piece of the potato and roll it in the sooji so that the sooji coats the potato completely and place it in the pan.
• Arrange all the fodi nicely on tawa.
• Drizzle some oil all over the fodi slowly and cover the pan with a lid.
• Let the potatoes cook on a  medium low flame.
• Uncover the pan in between and flip them to fry on the opposite side, again drizzle some oil and cover them.
• After 10-15 minutes check if potatoes are cooked by using a fork or by toothpick.
• Now uncover them and fry on low flame for 1-2 minutes.Fry them till golden brown.
• Turn off the gas and transfer them on a plate.
• Serve hot with rice and dal.

          Notes

• The thickness of the potatoes can be varied.Even if you slice them thin they taste good.
• I add 1/2 tsp of haldi and 1/2 tsp of red chilli powder to the sooji to enhance the flavours.
• You can use plain rawa also to cover fodi if you don't like to add seasoning.
• The potatoes must be moist only then will the sooji stick to the potato.If its dry add a tsp of water.
• Do not marinate the potato for too long, it will turn dark and very soft.
• One of the important tip would be sprinkle oil on rava covered fodi only after arranging them on tawa,because if u put oil first on tawa and then place fodi there is tendancy that the masala covering on fodi is detached.
• The fodi are cooked soft and crispy by covering them with lid.
• Some people sprinkle water on fodi while cooking as i feel this step will not make them very crispy so i avoid it.
• Instead of rava you can also use coarse rice flour it is called as "Aalen" in goa.

         Happy cooking !