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Chicken Tikka is traditionally baked in skewers with small pieces of chicken, in a tandoor, after marinating in spices and yogurt.
Since we usually dont have tandoors at home,I used an oven instead.
Usually,boneless chicken of the chicken thigh gives best results.However,small pieces of chicken breast or small pieces of the usual chicken with bone can also be used.
Ingredients:
  • Chicken pieces-500gm(I have used pieces with bone here)
  • Ginger garlic paste-1tsp(squeeze out the water from it.
  • Thick curds-3tbsp
  • Red chilli powder-1 tsp or to taste.
  • Turmeric powder-1/2tsp
  • Garam masala powder-1/2tsp
  • Kasoori methi powder-1tbsp(crush the dried leaves between the palms)
  • Red food color-a pinch(optional)
  • Bell peppers(capsicum) chopped into large thin squares-as required.
  • Onions chopped into large thin squares-as required
  • Lemon juice-1tsp
  • Salt-to taste
  • Bamboo Skewers
Mix all the ingredients together except the vegetables and marinate for about 6 hours.
Preheat the oven to 225 °C.
Mix the veggies with the marinate.
Slide the marinated chicken pieces into the skewers,alternating with bell pepper and onion pieces.
Leave 2" free on both ends of the skewers.
Arrange the skewers onto a baking tray.
Roll up a small piece of aluminum foil into a cylinder.Place two of these cylinders on both sides of the baking tray(the ends of the skewers will rest on these).This allows easy dripping of the liquids whilst baking.
I find the method of baking on a wire mesh too messy .Using this method all the drippings are collected in the tray itself.
Bake for 15minutes on broil mode preferably.
After 15mins,remove tray and place the mesh on which the baking tray rests,one level up.This is to get the pieces closer to the filament on the oven and get the pieces nice and brown.
Turn each of the skewers upside down.
Bake for another 10-15minutes till golden brown.
Sprinkle kabab masala and lime juice over the kababs.
Serve hot .
For kabab masala,mix chaat masala with crushed dried mint leaves.


ShareWe can't resist big, soft, fudgy cookies, like those found in glass jars on bake-shop counters,can we?
 If you thought you had to banish cookies from your diet....think again. Baking with more healthful ingredients can be deliciously rewarding.
These healthy cookie recipes use sweeteners judiciously, have no hydrogenated fat, contain all-natural ingredients and as much whole-grain flour as possible. So fill up your cookie jar with these healthy, delicious cookies.

Ingredients:
  • Quick cooking oats-3cups
  • Eggs-2
  • Cinnamon powder-1tsp
  • Whole wheat flour-1cup
  • Rasins-1cup
  • Salt-1/2tsp
  • Baking powder-1tsp
  • Low fat butter(unsalted)-1/2cup
  • Canola/corn oil-1/2cup
  • Honey-1cup or to taste
  • Brown sugar-1/2cup(can be replaced with artificial sweetner)

Break eggs.Whip them with salt,sugar,honey,oil and butter till creamy.
Add oats,cinnamon powder& wheat flour.Mix well.
Add baking powder and rasins.Mix.
Refrigerate the mixture for 15mins.
Scoop out lemon sized balls and gently pat them to make cookies of desired shapes.
Arrange them on the baking dray,spacing them well apart.
Preheat the oven to 175°C
Bake the cookies for 10-15minutes till the cookies turn golden brown.
Beware of curious neighbours....as the whole house gets fiiled with the awesome aroma of the best cookies ever!!!
These cookies have an appealing cracked top and a chewy middle,make snack time enjoyable for everybody.
So...Grab a bite.......


SharePhaal is traditionally a hot, peppery gravy with either chicken or mutton.
Phaal is famous for being the hottest curry, hotter than its famous spicy cousin -the Vindaloo.
If you are fan of super hot curries (I know that there are plenty of people out there who are), then please give this a go!
A few days ago, my sister in law suggested that I make the same gravy with kheema koftas.I also decided to give it a try and was very pleased with the results:-))
I reserved a few of the koftas which I fried later on and they accompanied the phal perfectly:-))
Ingredients for the Koftas:
  • Minced meat(kheema)-250gms
  • Grated coconut-2tbsp
  • Roasted bangal gram dal(chutney dal)-1tbsp
  • Chopped onions-1tbsp
  • Ginger-1/2" chopped
  • Garlic-4cloves
  • Turmeric powder-1/2tsp
  • Green chillies-3(medium)
  • Dry Red chillies-2
  • Chopped Cilantro(corriander leaves)-1tbsp
  • Garam masala-1/2tsp
  • Salt-to taste

Wash kheema and strain well to remove water.
Grind all the ingredients together into a fine thick paste adding very few drops of water.
Make small balls of desired size(I like them to be a size smaller than a lemon).
Deep fry 1/3rd of the meat balls on medium flame till nice and brown.
Reserve the uncooked balls for the gravy.
Ingredients for the phaal:

  • Onions-2(medium)
  • Peppercorns-1 1/2tsp
  • Grated coconut-2tbsp
  • Ginger-garlic paste-1tbsp
  • Garam masala-1/2tsp
  • Tomatoes-1(big)
  • Red chilli powder-1tsp or to taste
  • Turmeric powder-1/2tsp
  • Kasoori methi-1tbsp(optional)
  • Salt -to taste
  • Oil

Peel and chop onions.
Roast onions in 1tsp oil till golden brown.Cool.
Grind all the ingredients together (in blue)to a thick paste adding very little water.
Heat 3tbsp oil in a pan. Add the ground paste,salt and saute well till the oil separates.
Add the red chilli powder and turmeric powder and saute.
Add water to get the gravy to the desired consistancy and boil for 2 mins.I like the gravy to be semi-thick.
Simmer flame and add the koftas(uncooked) and let them cook for about 10mins.
Check for salt.Add black pepper powder if you wish to make the gravy a little more hot.
Garnish with chopped cilantro.
Serve hot with steamed rice.Enjoyy!!


ShareAs promised,here is the recipe for the Pizza Sauce I used in the Pizza recipe.
The tomatoes used in making the sauce need to be ripe and deep red in colour.
The sauce will be more than sufficient to spread over 3 large Pizzas.After you use it once,the sauce can be frozen and used when required.It will remain as fresh.
Ingredients:
  • Ripe tomatoes-8 medium sized
  • Oregano-1tsp(easily available in the spices section of supermerkets)
  • Basil-1tsp
  • Salt-1tsp
  • Sugar-1/2tsp
  • Red chilli powder-1tsp
  • Chopped garlic-2tsp
  • Chopped bell peppers(capsicum)-2tbsp(optional ,but the peppers give a wonderful aroma to the sauce)
  • Oil-2tbsp(olive oil preferably)
Method:
Make small plus shaped slits on the rear end of each of the tomatoes.
Blanch them in boiling water for about 2 mins.
Immerse the tomatoes into cold water.
The peel of all the tomatoes can be easily removed now starting from the rear end where the slits where made.
Chop half of the tomatoes very finely and blend the other half to a puree in a blender.
Heat oil,add the chopped garlc.
When the garlic turns golden brown,add the bell peppers,salt,sugar and saute well.

Add the choopped tomatoes and the puree and bring to a boil.
Add the chilli powder and let it simmer with lid closed for about 15mins till the tomaotes are totally cooked.
Add the oregano and basil boil for a couple of minutes.
If the sauce is too thick add some water to get it to a spreadable consistancy.
Cool and use.


ShareI am delighted to have reached my 50th post in about 3 months of blogging!
I decided to bake a Chicken Tikka Pizza to celebrate the occasion.This was my first try at making any kind of Pizza.

The result was perfect.The color,texture and the taste was just right.The taste was extremely similar to the Grilled chicken pizza from Pizza Hut.
The veggies can just omit the chicken from this recipe.
Ingredients:
  • All purpose four(maida)-5cups
  • Warmwater(not hot water coz yeast dies in hot water)-250ml
  • Powdered yeast-small packet(around 6gm)
  • Salt-3/4th tsp
  • Sugar-3/4th tsp
  • Pizza Sauce-5tbsp(Pizza sauce can either be store bought or home made.I made the sauce at home.Nothing tastes better than freshly made pizza sauce.I will post the Pizza sauce recipe in my following posts.
  • Sliced Onions & Bell peppers(capsicum)
  • Chicken Tikka pieces-1cup.(For chicken tikka pieces-marinate small pieces of chicken breast in salt,ginger-garlic paste,chilli powder,dhania powder,little curds, garam masala and a pinch of red food colour.The propotions of masalas and amount of chicken can be to your liking.)
  • Grated Mozzarella cheese-to taste
  • Oil-Olive oil preferably
For chicken Tikka pieces-cook the marinated chicken pieces on low flame with lid closed till tender.Add a tsp oil and roast on high flame till crisp.
OR brush pieces with oil and bake in a preheated oven at 200°C for 10mins or till done.
For the Pizza dough:
Mix one packet(around 6gm) of powdered yeast to a glass(250ml)of water.Add a cup of flour ,salt and sugar and whisk till all lumps are gone.Cover and let it rest for 15mins.
Add 4 cups of flour to a big bowl and mix in 4tsp olive oil.
Now slowly add in the yeast mixture and mix to form a very smooth dough.The dough should be much smoother than the dough we use for rotis.So if more water is required,add in warm water and mix.

Cover lid and let it rest in a warm place for a hour.The dough becomes double the size then.
After an hour punch into the dough to remove any excess air bubbles and form a uniform dough again.Dip your fingers in oil while working as the dough gets a little sticky.Glaze the dough surface with oil .
Close lid and let it rest for 30mins.
Dust the working surface with flour and roll the dough on it.Dont knead dough.
Dough is ready.
You can divide this dough into 2-3 parts depending on the size of Pizza you want to make.I had a large baking tray hence I used the whole dough to make one large rectangular pizza.
Grease the baking tray with oil and spread the dough onto the tray uniformaly with your finger tips.
Remember the dough wil rise to double its thickness ,so make sure you dont spread it too thick as the pizza will become too thick.
Mine was around 1/3rd inch thick and resulted in a beautiful regular crust.If you require a thin crust,make the thickness even more less.
Spread the Pizza sauce uniformly on the prapared dough surface
Add the chicken pieces,sliced onions & bell peppers.Add chopped green chillies to your llking if you like a real spicy Pizza.
Spread grated mozzarella cheese all over uniformly.I reduced the quantitly of cheese on my Pizza due to the fat content involved.But a generous spread of the cheese gives perfect results.
Drizzle 2tsp of olive oil all over the pizza.Brush oil to the edges of the crust so that the pizza edges get a beautiful colour.
Preheat the oven at 230°C and bake for around 20mins or till the crust get a nice golden colour.
The Masterpiece............
The crust looked just too tempting.Couldn't wait to sink my teeth into it!!
\
Cut using a Pizza cutter or a sharp knife to desired shapes.Serve with tomato ketchup and chilli flakes.
Amazingly crisp surface and super soft core and the taste-just perfekkkt!
 


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This is my favourite amongst all the varieties of Dosas.It can be prepared in minutes unlike the regular dosa where you need to Soak......Grind.......Ferment........and then ........cook!
It's got a great textute and crisp on the outside and soft inside.
I has tried this recipe earlier but never used to get the porous texture required.Over the time I developed my own way to do it and now they look fabulous.

Ingredients for the batter:
  • Semolina(soji)-1cup
  • Rice flour-1cup
  • All purpose flour(maida)-1cup
  • Cumin seeds(jeera)-1tsp
  • Chopped green chillies-1tbsp(can be reduced if served to kids)
  • Chopped corriander-2tbsp
  • Salt-to taste
  • Chopped onions-to sprinkle over the dosa.
Mix all the ingredients together except the onions .Keep adding water slowly to form an extremely watery batter.The consistancy is much thinner than the regular dosa batter.
Let it rest for 15mins.
Check the consistancy again.The batter may have become a little thick due to the sooji soaking up some of the water.
Add some more water to bring it to a watery consistancy.
The batter is ready.
Heat a nonstick pan/tava and let it be remain on  flame.
Sprinkle some of the chopped onions on the tava.

now sprinkle the watery batter over the tava so as to cover the whole surface.

Drizzle a tsp or two of oil and let it cook on high flame till it reaches a golden colour.
As the dosa is paper thin,there is no need to turn the dosa upside down and cook it on the otherside.

Fold the dosa in any way you like and serve immediately with coconut chutney.


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What would you do when you feeling down?
Let's go for Haagen Dazs....
What would you do when you are so tired and lazy to do anything?
Let's go for Haagen Dazs....
What would you do when you had a fight with your boyfriend, spouse, best friend?
Let's go for Haagen Dazs....
Do drop by Haagen Dazs Ice Cream outlet whenever you're
Feeling down...unhappy...sad...depressed....tired...bored....stressed.....
 If you put on weight, don't blame me.......!!! [wink]

Ice cream is the type of food I like to eat without worrying about fat and calories:-))
I like real ice cream made with real ingredients! I don’t want added sweeteners, preservatives and ingredients I can’t pronounce. When I think of Haagen-Daz, I think of quality. They’re known for using the finest, all-natural ingredients to create a supreme ice cream. They also disclose all ingredients which is important for consumers looking for tranparency
 While in Dubai, I've been eating lots of ice cream. In hot, humid weather, it tastes really good. Now that's its winter, I find it still tastes really good. Ice cream has been a personal theme of mine. Anyway, I decided to take pictures of all of the ice cream and dedicate a post to it. Häagen-Dazs has been my personal favorite would rank Basin Robins as #2.
If you haven’t spent at least a hundred evenings of your life attacking the dense, delicious ice-cream contained in a tub of Häagen-Dazs with a spoon then you’re no ice-cream fan.
The Dubai mall store is the only Haagen Dazs store which offers a medley of ice creations in its distinctive collections:
Here are some of them which I truly enjoyed...

Fondue- Perfect for sharing with that special someone. Luscious fondue scoops and Strawberry Ice Cream served with slices of fresh seasonal fruits, crunchy nuts and baked pastries, accompanied by a warm pot of rich chocolate sauce. a perfect combination of the rich and creamy ice cream with scrumptious pastries
 This is my perfect Haagen Dazs moment: Dipping the Haagen Dazs ice cream balls in the hot Belgian Chocolate dip, then letting the chocolate solidify before eating the entire chocolate covered ice cream!
 The only thing is, it costs a lot for the fondue set and it would be perfect for a group of 6. The fondue is worth it especially if it is enjoyed with friends and family. You have to attack the ice cream immediately because it easily melts.
 Häagen-Dazs, more or less, invented the boutique ice cream niche. Unlike the enormously popular Baskin Robbins, Häagen-Dazs was ice cream with regard, glamour, and a name that meant nothing...to anyone.
caramel sundae
Belgian chocolate
 Caramel Custard Sundae
 Banana caramel sundae
Chai icecream with a danish,whipped cream and berry sauce
 Chocolate chip sundae
 Strawberry,custard and icecream sundae
 Sundae with custard,vanilla icecream,belgian chocolate icecream and a pastry
 Vanilla icecream and expresso

Their newest ice cream concept-Five
The Haagen-Daz Five series is comprised of five ingredients that you can pronounce and find in your kitchen. Each of the seven varieties include milk, cream, eggs, sugar, and the ingredient that represents the dominant flavor (Chocolate, Mint, Passion Fruit, Ginger, Coffee, and Brown Sugar).
The ice cream…is divine. I have no idea how something so simple could taste so good. It’s rich, creamy, and sweet, but not overwhelming. I love being able to taste that one focus ingredient without being distracted by anything else.
Herez the recipe to make this divine dessert!

Häagen-Dazs Five Brown Sugar Ice Cream with Warm Apple Cinnamon Blossoms

Makes 4 servings

  •  Melted butter-1 1/2tbsp
  • Filo dough (12”x15” each)-2sheets(similar to a puff pastry and easily found at supermarkets)
  • Apples-2medium
  • Lemon juice-2tbsp
  • Granulated sugar-1/4cup
  • Butter-1tbsp
  • Cinnamon-1/2tsp
  • Nutmeg-1/4tsp

Preheat oven to 350oF. Invert a muffin tin and brush the bottom and sides of the four corner cups with a little of the melted butter.
Lay one sheet of filo dough on a dry surface. Brush with half the remaining butter.
 Lay second sheet of filo on top. Brush with remaining butter.
Trim one short end to make an even square. Cut square into four squares.
Place each square of filo over one of the buttered muffin cups. Gently fold and crimp filo around edges of cups to form an inverted bowl. Place inverted pan in oven and bake 6-8 minutes until filo is golden brown. Cool filo cups on pan. (Can be baked up to two days ahead and stored in an airtight container.)
Peel and core apples. Cut into 1/8-1/4-inch slices and toss with lemon juice in a medium bowl.
Combine sugar, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg and 1/3 cup water in a wide skillet; bring to a rapid simmer over medium-high heat. Add apples and lemon juice.
Cook 5-7 minutes stirring frequently until apples are tender, adding 1-2 tablespoons water if liquid evaporates. With a slotted spoon remove apples to a bowl to cool slightly.
Continue cooking liquid 1-2 minutes until syrupy.
Gently lift filo cups from pan. Spoon warm apples into cups. Place a scoop of Brown Sugar Ice Cream over apples and drizzle with syrup. Serve immediately.

 


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