Quick Kalakand - Microwave recipe

The traditional Kalakand recipe requires making some paneer by breaking boiling milk and again adding the paneer to boiling milk. This recipe is for lazy times when you dont want to spend so much time and so many vessels. 

The paneer can be replaced by ricotta cheese and the milk boiling process and be replaced by condensed milk. So this recipe calls for two main ingredients (Ricotta cheese and Condensed milk) and just one dish. 

Ingredients:

•  Ricotta Cheese – 15 oz
• Condensed Milk – 14 oz
• Rose Water – 1/2 tsp (or 2-3 drops of Rose Essence)
• Ghee - 1 tbsp
• Cardamom Powder – 1/4 tsp
• Chopped nuts (Pistachios, almonds) – 1 tbsp

Procedure:

Grease a big microwave safe bowl with few drops of ghee.  Add condensed milk and ricotta cheese.  Stir with a spoon or whisk so that ricotta cheese lumps are dissolved.

 Cook in the microwave on high heat for 5 minutes .Take out, loosen the edges with a spatula and mix well.

Put it back in the microwave uncovered for 4 more minutes. Take out, loosen the edges with a spatula and mix well.

Microwave again for 10-12 minutes.  Keep checking and stir after every 2 mins to avoid burning.  Mine took totally 22 mins. This time varies depending on the microwave efficiency as well as the consistency of the ricotta cheese. By the end of this stage, most of the the moisture must have evaporated and you should be able to see granules as shown in the pic below.

Add cardamom powder , rose water and 1/2 tsp ghee. Mix well.  Microwave it for a couple minutes until it turns granular and all the moisture is lost as shown below.

Sprinkle chopped nuts and press and flatten the mixture with the help of a spoon or potato masher. Allow it to cool for sometime, cut it into desired shapes and enjoy.

I prefer taking a rectangular microwave safe dish so that i get perfect squares when I cut them . You can also add this kalakand for recipes with koya. I added some for my Gajar ka Halwa and it was yummy :)

Pappu Chekkalu / Nippatlu / Rice Crackers

These lovely savory pappu chekkalu make a great snack for tea time or travel or picnic. Whenever we plan for a long drive, I ensure to pack some Chekkalu or Chegodis. Its a popular snack made
South Indians prepare lots of rice based deep fried snacks during festive time to be relished for festive get togethers. There are many versions of these chekkalu varying from region to region.
For good Chekkalu , its important that you have good quality rice flour which is fresh. The course rice flour from grinding mills works best.

Ingredients :

• Rice flour - 1 cup
• Green chillies - 8 (vary acc to spice of chilli)
• Jeera - 1 tbsp
• Chana dal / Groundnut  - 2-3 tbsp
• Chopped Curry leaves - few
• Chopped Coriander leaves - few
• Butter : 2 tbsp
• Onion : 1
• Oil : for deep fry
• Salt: as per taste

Procedure:

Soak Chana dal in water for an hour. I used course ground ground nuts and my hubby loves the groundnut flavor a lot. You can also use a combination of soaked chana dal and groundnuts if you wish.

Grind green chillies  and onion coarsely using a mixer.

Take a  mixing bowl and add rice flour , chilli and onion paste  , soaked chana dal / groundnut ,jeera , butter , chopped curry leaves,  coriander leaves and salt.

Mix them into a soft dough by slowly adding water little by little.The dough should be soft  enough that when flattened by  pressing with your hands in the form of a chekka,  it should not break at the edges. Test the dough for salt before frying.

Heat Oil in a heavy bottomed vessel for deep frying . Pinch a small lemon size ball from the dough. Grease a  plastic sheet evenly with oil and place the dough ball on it. Cover it with another greased plastic sheet and  flatten it  into a 5-6cm dia round circle by using a flat bottomed plate or with your fingers .

 Test the oil for frying. When you drop a piece of flour, your oil is ready for frying if it forms bubbles and the dough floats.Please keep in mind that during the entire process, the flame should be in medium and the oil shouldn't be piping hot.Always fry in medium heat oil because low heat will result in very hard chekkalu and high heat will result in unevenly cooked soft chekkalu. 

Once the oil is hot, slowly peel the shaped chekkalu off the plastic sheet and slide into the hot oil.  Reduce flame to medium and deep fry the chekkalu to a golden colour  to achieve that golden color and crispness.

When the chekkalu turn a light golden brown color,  use a slotted ladle to remove onto an absorbent paper and cool. Repeat the same process till the rest of the dough is done. Cool completely before storing in an air tight container.

Enjoy these with your friends and family ...

Kara Sev / Karapusa

Kara Sev or Karam pusa is a fried Indian snack with Chickpea flour and Rice flour as the main ingredients. Kara sev can be savored as a snack or for topping in any type of chat or bhel puri. To make things simple, you can even  have this spicy and crunchy sev with a cup of yoghurt seasoned with chat masala.  There are a couple of  irresistible Indian snacks like sev, muruku, janthikalu, ribbon pakoda etc made with a Murukku/Chakli Press/Janthikalu Gottam by just varying the plates as shown in the photograph. For this sev recipe, I used the plate with the smallest holes. With this Muruku press, you can make  lots of different varieties of Indian snacks by just varying the plates (disks with holes).
All you need to do is prepare dough, fit an appropriate plate, fill the murukku press with dough,  and squeeze  in hot oil on medium flame in concentric circles. Thats it !!!

Ingredients:

• Chickpea flour - 1.5 cups
• Rice flour - 1/2 cup
• Red Chilli powder - 1 tsp (adjust acc to chilli spice)
• Warm Oil / Ghee / Butter - 1 tbsp
• Powdered Ajwain / Vaamu - 1 tsp
• Salt to taste
• Water to knead for dough

Procedure:

Grind the Ajwain / Vaamu into very fine powder. As the holes in the disk are very small, its important to grind ajwain into fine powder.

In a mixing bowl add gram flour, rice flour, salt, chilli pwd,  warm ghee /oil and ajwain powder and combine well. Slowly add water little by little to make a soft pilable dough, just soft enough that it is pressed through easily with the janthikalu/Chakli  press. Test the dough for salt before frying.

Heat a heavy bottomed vessel with oil for deep frying. Attach the disc with the smallest holes in the Muruku press and fill it with dough.  The traditional Chakli press ones are heavy and need to be pressed little hard. Now a days you get light weight ones which are pressed by a screw like mechanism by rotating it making it easier and lighter.

Murukku press / Janthikalu gottam with discs

Test the oil for frying. When you drop a piece of flour, your oil is ready for frying if it rises up and floats. Please keep in mind that during the entire process, the flame should be in medium and the oil shouldn't be piping hot. Now press the Janthikalu Gottam in circular motion forming concentric circles.
When the sev turns into golden color, turn over gently to the other side and let it also cook evenly.

Use a slotted ladle to remove onto an absorbent paper and cool. Repeat the same process till the rest of the dough is done.

Cool completely and  store in an air tight container.

Double Ka Meeta - Bread Pudding

Double ka meetha  is an authentic dessert of Hyderabad which is a type of pudding with bread and milk as the main ingredients. You wont be surprised to find Dum Biryani in the main course and  Double ka Meeta as dessert  in most of the weddings in Hyderabad . Double ka meetha basically refers to the sweet dessert  made with milk bread, called "Double Roti" .

Ingredients:

• 12 slices of bread 
•  Oil / Ghee / vanaspati for deep frying
• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
•  3 cups of full fat milk
• Few strands of saffron
•  1/2 cup of sugar (adjust to taste) 
• 1/2 cup mixed nuts ( pistas, cashews, slices almonds)
• 2 tbsp raisins 
• 2-3 chopped dates

Procedure:

Cut the edges of the bread slices and allow them to rest on a tray overnight in a dry place. This allows the the bread to become moisture free. This process is optional and you can skip it if you are running out of time.

When you are ready to start, cut the bread slices diagonally . Heat the oil /ghee in a thick bottomed pan and fry the bread pieces until golden brown. Arrange the fried bread slices in a deep bowl / tray .

Once done with frying the bread, fry the nuts and raisins until golden brown. Add the dates to them and set aside for garnishing.

 Now lets start working on the milk and sugar syrup.
Heat milk in a heavy bottomed vessel and add the saffron strands. Let it simmer for about 12-15 mins and keep stirring.

Meanwhile take another vessel and add the sugar and water. Simmer it for 6-8 mins until it thickens. Add the cardamom powder and switch off.

 Pour this over the prepared bread slices evenly and top them with a layer of nuts, raisins and dates.

In the meantime, check the boiling milk. Once the milk has thicken as shown in the below photograph, switch off and pour it over the soaking bread slices and let it rest for some time until all the milk and sugar syrup is evenly absorbed.

As I didnt have a very large tray, I put the entire dessert  in 3 (bread+sugar syrup+nuts+milk)  layers and served them chilled.

Although its so simple and easy to prepare, double ka meetha is an immensely rich dessert for special occasions.

P.S - I used brown bread but white or milk break works best.

Gongura / Red Sorrel Leaves Chutney

Gongura as known as Ambada or Red Sorrel Leaves  is a leafy vegetable with a  very distinctive sour taste. It is a popular authentic Andhra cuisine. It can be cooked with dal, chutney and well as with meat and sea food. Any combination with Gongura is mouthwatering  and makes you crave for its unique sour taste.
Apart from its distinctive taste,  it also has many health benefits as it is very rich in Iron, vitamins C, vitamin A, vitamin D,  folic acid and anti-oxidants essential for human nutrition

Today I am going to blog a very simple, easy and tasty chutney recipe with minimal ingredients.

Ingredients:

• Gongura / Red Sorrel Leaves - 2 Cups 
• Red Chillies - 8 to 10 (Vary acc to spice of chilli...Mine are hardly spicy.)
• White Sesame seeds / Nuvvulu - 2 tbsp
• Onion - 1 
• Tamarind paste - 1/2 tsp - optional

For the tadka / popu (Optional) :

• Mustard seeds -1/2 tsp
• Jeera / Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
• Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
• Chana dal - 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves - 1 sprig
• Asafoetida / Hing - a pinch

Procedure:

Take a pan and dry roast the sesame seeds on medium flame. After a minute tear and add the red chillies and saute for few seconds until the sesame seeds change into light brown color. Remove from the flame and once cool grind to powder and set aside.

Pluck the leaves of Gongura from the stems, wash and clean them. In the same vessel add a tsp of oil followed by gongura leaves and  onion.

Saute it on medium flame until the gongura leaves shrink as shown in the photograph. Once the leaves shrink and change color, switch off the flame and let it cool.

Now add the gongura onion , tamarind paste with the dry sesame - chilli powder and grind to a smooth paste.

Add a tsp of oil for the tadka...Once hot add in mustard seeds , cumin seeds, Chana dal, Urad dal, hing, curry leave and asafoetida. Saute till the dals are brown and add them to the chutney mix.

This step of tadka or popu is option. My MIL skips it but I feel that tadka enhances the flavor. So its upto you.

Add some chopped onions and serve. I add some more onions to the chutney because i like the sour taste and the pink color on the onions when they are marinated in the chutney.

Serve with hot rice, oil / ghee ,  onions and enjoy your meal.

Kashta Kachori - Rajasthani special snack

Kashta Kachori is a traditional Rajasthani snack recipe which is puffed up and flaky from outside but hollow inside as the filling sticks to the crust.  The trick for this texture is to fry the kachoris on a very slow flame so that the crust is flaky and crisp and stuffing part gets cooked  well on the inside.

Ingredients

For The Dough (crust):

• 1 cup maida (all-purpose flour)
• 2 tbsp  melted ghee
• Salt to taste (approx 1/2 tsp)
• Chill water to knead the maida (approx 1/4th cup)

For The Filling:

• 1/4 cup yellow moong dal - soak for 4  hrs
• 1/4 cup urad dal - soak for 4  hrs
• a pinch of  asafoetida (hing)
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds (or powder) 
• 1/2 tsp ginger  paste
• 1 tsp finely chopped green chilli (Alternatively you can use paste also) 
• 1/2 tsp red chilli pwd
• 1/2 tsp coriander pwd 
• 1/2 tsp dried mango powder (amchur)
• 1/4 tsp garam masala
• 1 tbsp besan
• 1/4 cup fresh coriander leaves (optional)
• 1 tbsp oil
• salt to taste

Other Ingredients:

• oil for deep-frying

Method :

Drain the soaked dal mixture and grind it into a course dry paste and keep aside.

Take a bowl and mix the maida , salt , ghee to form a crumbly textured dough. Slowly add the chilled water  and make a  semi-soft dough by kneading it well  for 4 -5  minutes.

Cover the dough with a  wet muslin cloth and let it rest for 15 mins. Meanwhile lets prepare the stuffing.
Drain and grind the soaked moong dal into a course paste.
Heat a vessel on medium flame , add oil, cumin seeds and once brown, add the ginger - green chilli paste.

Saute for few seconds and all the remaining dry ingredients and saute on medium flame for a 1-2 mins.  Add coarsely ground dal mixture and coriander leaves and saute  for 6-8 mts  until brown and turn off heat.

Now that the stuffing and the dough are ready, lets start with the rolling process. Remove the dough from the wet cloth and divide it into 12 equal parts. Keep in mind that during the entire process the dough should be covered and not exposed to air.

Roll out each portion of the dough into a 2"diameter circle . the sides should be little thinner than the centre. Place one portion of the filling mixture in the center of the rolled dough circle.

Slowly stretch the sides of the dough over the filling mixture .Seal the ends tightly like a dumpling and remove any excess dough.

With your palm gently press each filled portion into a 2½" diameter circle taking care to ensure that the filling spreads evenly and does not spill out.

Repeat with the remaining dough and filling to make 11 more kachoris. Cover and keep them aside.

Deep fry the kachoris in hot oil over a slow flame till golden brown on both sides. The kachoris should puff up and float on the oil. Please keep in mind that the oil should not be piping hot as the inside stuffing will not be cooked well. So cook it well on a low flame.

Remove onto absorbent paper , Cool and keep aside or store in an air-tight container.

 This dish can be stored in air-tight containers for upto a week. Warm up the kachoris and serve them with  any chutneys .. Bon appetit  :) .