Macaroni with White Cheese Sauce

Ingredients:

• 300 g Macaroni • 2 tbsp Refined Flour (Maida) • 2 cups Milk • 1 cup Processed Cheese (grated) • 2 tbsp Butter • Salt to taste • White Pepper Powder to taste • 1 tbsp Fresh Parsley (Ajmoda)

How to make Cheesy Macaroni:

• Boil macaroni till done, drain and run under tap water and set aside. I added pinch of salt and few drops of oil so the macaroni doesn't stick while boiling. • In a pan, heat butter and add refined flour to it. Sauté lightly. • Add milk to the maida, gently stirring it to avoid any lumps. Add grated cheese to the milk, stirring it all the while. • Add salt and white pepper powder to the sauce and cook for some more time. • In another pan, heat some butter and add the macaroni to it. Pour the white sauce to the macaroni and mix well. One may add extra salt, pepper and red chilly powder if desired at this time too. • Add on some extra cheese and chopped parsley. • Serve hot. Note: one may add flour, salt and pepper to the milk and stir to remove lumps and then add to butter if the other method causes lumps for you.

Fried 'Spicy' Arbi!

Ingredients

Arvi(Colocasia or Taro)- 1/2 kg-8-10 pieces

Salt-1 tsp

Red chilly powder-1 tsp

Aam chur(Mango powder) -1 tsp

Oil-1 cooking spoon

Water- 2-3 cups

Recipe:-

1. Wash arvi properly when to be cooked. Never wash arvi and keep beforehand as it gets spoiled.

2. Put the unpeeled arbi in a cooker and put some water to boil it. Allow it to boil for around 5-10 minutes or till it give 3-4 whistles.

3. Peel the skin of the arbi and if you want one can cut each piece into half.

4. Heat some oil in a kadai and put arbi in it. Deep fry it so it gets brown on both sides and then add salt and chilly powder to it.

5. Add aamchur in the end and let it cook nicely for 2 minutes so all ingredients get mixed. Don't overcook it or it can turn mashy.

6. Remove it on a paper to dry off oil and serve.

One can have it with roti as a main dish or like a snack.

Variation

1. One can also fry the arvi on all both sides so it turns crispy and remove it and then add all the pieces in the oil and add salt, chilly and amchur. Either ways tastes comes similar.

Arvi Patta Curry!

Colocasia esculenta leaf Curry in Gravy (Arbi Patta Curry )

Ingredients:

A couple of Colocasia esculenta leaves with petiole( Arbi patta- about 10 -20 bunches) ( I made about 15 rolls with 2 -3 leaves rolled in 1 roll)

For batter:

250 grams chick-pea flour(besan or more depending on the leaves)

Fennel seeds(Sauf)-1-2 teaspoon

Ginger garlic paste-1 tsp

Red chilly powder-1/2 tsp-1 tsp

Ajwain-1 tsp

Hing- a pinch (optional- i avoided) if u making curry as the curry salt and roll salt get mixed)

Water

Baking powder-1/2 tsp(to keep leaves green)- optional( I haven't used it)

Curry

Onion-1

Tomotoes-2

Ginger garlic paste-1 tsp

Red chilly powder-1 tsp

Coriander powder-2 tsp

Salt-3/4 tsp

( blend all ingredients in a blender)

Tumeric powder-1/4 tsp

Cumin seeds-1 tsp

Oil-2 cooking spoon

Water

Method:

Batter:

1. Prepare a batter of the besan and water. Mix well with a spoon. Add all batter ingredients to the batter. The consistency should be right for evenly spreading over the leaf sauce.

2. Wash the leaves with petiole in running water carefully. Lay leaf blades on a colander and let then dry on itself.

3. Lay the leaf, undersurface up( the light green side with the root up), on a work-board and starting from one corner of the leaf, evenly coat the leaf surface with the batter. A spoon does this job well.

4. Roll Another leave on it and repeat the process....I generally put the leave on each other in such way that the root on one side is alternate to other side so middle doesnt become too thick....Add one more leaf if the leaves are small...Roll the leaves carefully and tightly. Do not press hard as batter is likely to ooze out from the sides. Once you have finished tolling all the leaves, place them on a steamer and steam for 10 minutes. Any steamer can be used. In case a steamer is not available, a medium dish can be filled with water to about 2 inches depth and a smaller dish (medium strainer can be used)overturned inside the medium one. On top of the strainer put the rolled leaves.Cover the dish with a medium plate (turned upside) /lid and put it over a stove. The steam generated inside works well to steam cook the rolls. If the rools are long curve them at the sides without breaking.

5. When the rolls are done they change colour and cool them . Slice them into one inch thick slices when cooled.One can also refrigerate them and eat as healthy snacks.

6.Deep-fry these slices in oil till crisp. These crispies can also be served as snacks.

Curry

1. Heat oil in pan and Add jeera to it and then the blended paste along with tumeric powder and salt . Fry this masala till it leaves out oil and fresh taste goes and then add water according to consistency and add crispies in end and cook for a minute or two. The curry is ready.

Suji Ki Katli

Ingredients

Suji(semolina)-2 cups

Besan( Chickpea)- 1 cup

Sugar- 3 cups

Ghee- 1 spoon+1 spoon (tablespoon)

Water- 6 cups

Milk- 1 cup

Malai- 2 tsp

Grated dry cocunut-1

Raisins(kishmish)-10-15

Small cardomon - 6-8 (use seeds)

Chirongi(melon seeds)- handful

Badam- blanched and grated (optional)- I didnt use.

Kevda-1 tsp

Recipe

1. Saute suji in a kadai till golden brown and take it out.

2. Add I tsp ghee in a kadai and add sauted suji and besan to it and do it till its sauted nicely( golden brown in colour) and leaves a smell. Make sure besan does not has knots and if it does remove it. The sauting with ghee is optional for katli so one can just saute alone too but ghee makes it delicious and soft.

3. Take 1 tsp ghee in a pan and add raisin and small cardomon. Once raisins swell immediately add 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water to it so raisins dont burn. Then add rest of the sugar and water to it.

4. Cook till sugar gets dissolved and the mixture gets sticky.Keep stirring while cooking and check mixture by touching the mixture and see if its sticky.

5. Add sauted suji to it or this mixture to kadai and then add milk, malai to it. Add chirongi, coconut to it. Stir it nicely fastly till its too heavy to stir and so all water is drained and its ready to be frozen. It takes 1-2 minutes.

6. Take a big thali and use ghee to moisten it. And then pour the full mixture to it and spread it with spoon to be even and let it dry under fan.

7. As its tuff to cut when its dry...marks square pieces in it when wet and when its almost hard, remove the pieces and store in a box.

Fried Karela

Ingredients

Raw Karela-8

Red chilly powder-1 tsp

Salt-1 tsp

Aam chur-1 tsp

Oil

Recipe

1. Cut the karela into small pieces and put salt and leave aside.

2. Remove salted water from it.

3. Take oil in a karai and add karela to it and fry it nicely.

4. Then add salt and red chilly powder.

5. Cover kadai with a plate so karela softens.

6. In end add aam chur and then fry with some time.

7. One can add sauf dhaniya mix if its bitter.

Have crispy karela with roti.

Aam Jam/Aam Panna

Ingredients

Raw green mangos-4-5

Sugar-around 750 grams or more depending on sourness of mangos

Pudina-1 tsp

Salt-1 tsp

Lemon juice- few drops (less than half)-for preservation

Water-1 cup for boiling and 1 for dissolving water

Recipe

1. Peel the mangos and boil the mangoes with 1/2 cup water in a cooker. let it give 2-3 whistles. (

2. let the mangos cool and then mash it nicely with spoon and with hands so no knots remain.

3. Put sugar in a pan with some water and cook it till its dissolves and becomes sticky on hand.

4. Put mango mixture and remaining water in it and cook nicely.

5. Add pudina powder, salt, lemon during this time.

6. Cook till thick if you want it to turn into jam or else remove from stove for panna.

7. Let it cool and then store in bottles in fridge.

Note:- for panna take a spoon in a glass and mix nicely and then add ice cold water and drink ( Its good for heat strokes)

Aam Murabba/chutney

1. Take ghee/oil in a cooker and add 1 tsp of sauf, salt and red chilly powder and mix nicely.

2. Add peeled mango pieces to it and fry nicely.

3. Add some water and cook by giving 2-3 steams.

4. Then add sugar (put very less)- about 250 grams to it and water and let it dissolve.

5. Add lemon juice and let it cook.

6. Cook till it thickens and then cool and store.

7. Have it like chutney or jam.

Note: If you wanna make jam dont add salt masala....just sugar and mango....and dont add water if you want jam....and add water if its a panna.

New York Cheese Cake

Ingredients

Everything has to be at room temperature. This is the key to making the perfect cheesecake. You need a lot of patience for this recipe. Here it goes..

You will need

20 graham crackers [Or you can even use digestive biscuits if you don't have graham crackers. In that case just use 10-12]
2 tablespoons of melted butter
500 grams cream cheese. That is roughly 16 oz. ( I used Amul cheese spread due to unavailabilty)
1 and half cup of sugar
3/4th cup of milk
1/4th cup Maida
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon Vanilla essence
Extra butter for greasing

You will need a springform pan to bake the cake. It is available in the market. You will also need a hollow tray/vessel which is bigger than this pan, because you need to place your springform pan in this bigger tray while baking. You will also need aluminium foil.

Method

Preheat the oven to 350C/170F.

Grease the springform pan with butter. [Base and sides]. Also cover the pan with aluminium foil so that the top remains open.

Put the graham crackers in a blender and make crums out of them. Add butter and mix well. Now put them on the bottom of the springform pan and press gently so that it forms the crust of your cake.

In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese and sugar with a wooden spatula until it is smooth. Be careful not to overmix.Now add the milk and mix again.
Next, add the eggs one by one, and mix gently such that the eggs get incorporated in the mixture.
Now add the sour cream, vanilla essence and maida. Mix gently.

Once you get a uniform mixture, pour it over the crackers in the greased and foiled pan.
Just gently tap it so that it sets and lets out any air bubbles.

Now, in the larger pan, add some warm water such that when the springform pan is kept into it, then the water covers the pan half way through the height.

Add the springform pan into this water.

Place this in the oven and bake for 1 hour.DO NOT CHECK YOUR CAKE BY OPENING THE OVEN AGAIN AND AGAIN.

[manage]

Turn off the oven after an hour, but let the cake remain inside for an extra 4-5 hours so that it does not crack.

Remove the cake after 4-5 hours, and then gently remove the aluminium foil and later release your cheesecake.

Chill it in the refrigerator until serving.

TRUST ME ITS WORTH ALL THE WORK. IT TASTES AMAZING! JUST BE PATIENT!

I must make this clear too. Please place the springform pan with filling in the larger pan first, and then pour the hot water up till it reaches halfway up the springform pan. If you can handle boiling water, then it's even better to pour that into your larger pan


Note:

Cover the pan from outside. A springform pan is actually where the base comes out like a spring. So you cannot cover that from inside, otherwise the mere foundation of cheesecake would be lost. So you need to cover this pan all the way round from outside so that the water does not seep inside the cheesecake mixture when you keep it in a water bath (larger pan with water)

SOUR CREAM

As sour cream is not available in India, this recipe is suggested as a substitute.


Ingredients
200 grams fresh cream
1 to 2 tablespoon thick curds
2 pinches salt

Method
1. Beat the cream until thick.

2. Add the curds and salt and mix well.

Cream Cheese (Home made)

Take amul cream

just take 1 cream packet and put it on flame and when it just starts to bubble, squeeze a lemon into it and then stir constantly till ur wooden spoon comes out coated and then u hang it overnight in a muslin cloth in fridge and next mornin wake up to fresh cream cheese. like i pour it in the cloth and then the cloth keep it in a sieve and the sieve i keep it in a utensil and tht utensil i keep in fridge so all water drips in utensil. Then cream cheese is one inside cloth and water is to be removed in morn and remove the cheese in a bowl and nicely stir and it'll be smooth.Only thing is it wont be salted.

Saute Mushrooms

Ingredients

Mushrooms- I packed (Wiped from cloth dont wash as they get black)
5-6 garlic pieces
Few pieces of ginger
Black pepper-1/4 tsp (or according to taste)
Salt
Coriander( fresh)
Oil

Recipe

Take abt 1 tbsp or less oil in a pan and heat it.

Then add ginger garlic and let it get brown.

Then add mushroom and fry a bit and add black pepper and salt and then cover pan and cook for 5 minutes and

Then sprinkle coriander leaves and serve.

Nigella's brownie (Self Adapted)

Ingredients

375 g soft unsalted butter ( I used salted hence didnt add salt later and i felt butter was too much so even 300 g would be good enough)

375 g best quality dark chocolate ( I used 160 grams dark chocolate and rest good quality milk chocolate- one can make from plain milk chocolate too)
6 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanila extract
500 g caster sugar ( its generally 21/4 cups but i used 2 cups plain sugar and blended it in mixer and used 2 3/4 cups of caster sugar and so sweetness was perfect)
225 g plain flour (2 cups)
1 teaspoon salt ( i didnt use)
300 g chopped walnuts ( i used 1 cup due to less at home but 2 cups will be amazing)

Directions:

1. 1 Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. 2 Line your approximatley 33 x 23 x 5 1/2cm brownie pan with foil or baking paper. ( i used a 9" springform but usual pan is recommended due to leaks)
3. 3 Melt the butter and chocolate together in a large heavy based saucepan.
4. 4 In a bowl beat the eggs with the sugar and vanilla.
5. 5 Measure the flour into another bowl and add the salt.
6. 6 When the chocolate mixture has melted, let it cool a bit before beating in the eggs and sugar mixture, and then the nuts and flour.
7. 7 Beat to combine and then scrape out of the saucepan into the lined brownie pan.
8. 8 Bake for about 25 minutes ( it usually takes 45 minutes to a hour).
9. 9 When its's ready, the top should be dried to a paler brown speckle, but the middle still dark and dense and gooey.
10. 10 Keep checking the brownies as they cook; remember that they will continue to cook as they cool.
11. 
    
12. Note: my brownie took long to cook and i did mistake to leave overnight in oven and so was hard by morning. But it was perfect in gooeyness. So cook it maximum for an hour and take it off, cool it and leave in fridge overnight so it cooks perfectly.

Vada Pao (Batata Vada)

Ingredients

4 Boiled Potatoes

1 tbsp. Oil for tempering

1/2 spn. Mustard seeds

4 Green chilies chopped ( +/ - according to individual taste)

A few curry leaves, torn to pieces

1/2 spn. Turmeric

3-4 cloves of garlic finely chopped

1 inch piece Ginger grated

Salt to taste

1-2 spns. finely chopped Cilantro

For Covering : (No measures here, I use approximates)

Besan / Chickpea flour- 1 cup almost

Red chilly powder- 1/4 tsp

Salt (only so much that the covering does not taste bland)

Pinch baking soda (optional)- 1 tsp

Saunf- 1 tsp

Water to make a batter

Oil for deep frying

Procedure:-

1. Mash the boiled potatoes.In a kadhai, heat 1 tbsp. oil, add mustard seeds,after they sputter, add green chilies and curry leaves, ginger-garlic, turmeric. Saute a while. Add mashed potatoes, salt. Add chopped cilantro.

2 To make the batter for covering, mix all ingredients listed above. Mix well to ensure that there are no lumps. Careful with the water, the batter mustn't be too runny nor too thick.

3.Heat oil in a kadhai. Make balls of the potato vege. Make like tikki / kebab by beating so they dont open up. Dip the ball in the batter and deep fry in oil till it turns a nice golden brown. Drain on a tissue.

Serve hot with garlic chutney, fries green chilly and Pav.

I served these with green chutney -Grind together 1 bunch Cilantro, 5 Green chilies, 1/2 inch Ginger, 1 small clove Garlic, Salt to taste , juice of 1/2 lime

And Sweet n Sour Tamarind Chutney : (I used approximately) Lime sized ball of Tamarind soaked in hot water for about 15-20 mins., Jaggery twice the amount of Tamarind , 1/4 tsp. red chilli powder, Salt to taste, 1/4 tsp. cumin powder

Squeeze out the tamarind pulp, discard solids. Heat a saucepan, add all the ingredients and bring to a boil. Boil the mixture for about 10 mins. till it thickens to the desired consistency. Cool and serve with wada-pav.

Typically Wada Pav is served with dry Garlic / Lasun Chutney. put chutney on either side of pav and then but vada in it and eat.

Cumin Crusted Potato Cutlets

Ingredients

boiled potatoes-5-6

dhania- nicely cut

1 cup mashed peas- boiled and mashed

Pomegranate( anar)- 1

aamchur powder-1/2 tsp

,salt- 1/2 tsp

pepper-1/2 tsp

Roasted cumin powder-1 tsp

butter

bread crumbs -2-3

Recipe

1. Take all the ingredients and then mash and mix them nicely. I also added 1/4 tsp of red chilly powder .

2. Make cutlets by binding it nicely.

3. Shallow fry in less butter or oil

4. Eat it with pudina chutney.

Note: do not add butter in the mixture. If your mixture is too moist add 1-2 spoons of besan powder to bind and then fry.

Brocolli Salad

Ingredients

4 hard boiled eggs, cut into bite size pieces

1 head fresh broccoli, cut into bit size pieces

1/4 cup red onion, chopped

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds (I used roasted poppy seeds)

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons maple syrup or sugar

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Salt and pepper

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine eggs, broccoli, onions, raisins and pumpkin seeds.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, garlic, balsamic vinegar, sugar, oregano, salt and pepper. Adjust seasoning to taste.

3. Pour dressing over broccoli mixture and toss until well mixed. Refrigerate for about 3 hours before serving (this allows broccoli to become tender).

4. Sprinkle a small handful of pumpkin seeds before serving, to give it an extra crunch.

Note: i used black vinegar and didn't like it...unless one has white/rice/balsamic vinegar....avoid putting vinegar...its pungent makes one not like it.

I even added 1/4 tsp of red chilly for taste.

This dish generally uses bacon....so if u eat it u can use it instead of eggs

Eid Sheer

Ingredients

Milk- 4 litres

Rice-1 cup + 1 cup milk to ground it

Sugar-1.5 bowl (about 700 grams or 3 cups)

Suji Sewai (roasted brown)-100 grams

Ghee- 1 cooking spoon

Grated cocunut-1

Blanched Almonds-20-25

Chironji-2 tbsp

Raisins-20-25

Cardomon powder-1 tsp+1tsp

Crushed walnuts- 15-20

Broken cashew nuts-10-15

Kevda -1 tbsp

Recipe

1. Boil the milk in a big bowl nicely and let it thicken so that it becomes good in taste. Keep stirring so the milk is not touched in bottom and getting burned.

2. Make a paste of washed and dried rice in a mixer or else boil rice so that its cooked in 1.5 cups water. Then add a cup of cold milk to it and mash it nicely so its completely broken and add in milk .

3. If rice paste is added it requires cooking milk more so rice are done.

4. Keep stirring continously . Take sewai and break it into very small pieces and take ghee in a kadai and add sewai to it and saute it nicely till golden brown.

5. Add sewai to the milk and keep stirring continously. Once the rice and sewai seemed done. Add the nuts and sugar in the end and then add kevda water to it. (Sugar should be added in end as it slows process...let sugar dissolve)

6. Pour in bowls when hot so that a layer forms on top.

7. Decorate with grated coconut, almonds and cardamom powder and freeze.

8. It tastes awesome when cold.

Sukhi Sewai

Ingredients

Suji Sewai(Roasted brown)-100 grams

Raisins-10-15

Cardomon seeds/powder-3-4

Chironji-2 -3 tsp

Grated cocunut-1/2

Blanched almonds-10-15

Sugar- 2 -3 cups (1.5 bowl)

1-2 cups water

Milk-1 cup (optional)

Ghee- 1 cooking spoon for roasting and another spoon for sewai

Recipe

1. Break sewai into small pieces and roast sewai in ghee so that it becomes golden brown and remove. Generally sewai becomes very hard so if u cook the sheera next day. Heat the roasted sewai and add 1/2 cup of water and some milk so it softens and is not hard.

2. Take ghee in a big pan and add raisins in it and cardomon seeds. Let raisins swell and keep low flame so raisins don't blacken. Immediately add water and sugar to it.

3. Let sugar cook till its nicely done for about 10-15 minutes. Cook it till it becomes sticky.

4. Then add dry fruits and sewai to it and close lid and cook it till sewai is done. Also add some milk so that sewai doesn't become hard.

5. Remove when done and decorate with some grated coconut and serve.

Note: If sewai seems hard one can put on flame and add some milk and heat it and it becomes soft and tastier.

Doodh sewai is cooked by boiling 1 ltr milk and then adding a cup or sugar and cooking till dissolved and then adding a cup of brown suji sewai till done.

Meeti Tikki( sweet)

Ingredients

Sugar-1 cup

Milk-1-2 tablespoon

Ata/Maida-1/2-1 cup(I used Ata)

Salt-1/2tsp
Fennel seeds(Sauf)-1 tablespoon

Egg-1 (optional)

Recipe

1. Take sugar in a pan and add milk and then heat a bit to dissolve it. Sugar dissolves quickly in heated milk. Let the sugar solution dissolves completely.

2. Add atta, salt and egg to it and knead it firmly. Add more milk if it require more liquid.

3. Heat oil in a kadai and then lower the flame.

4. Make small round balls and then make small thick round puri type tikkis.

5 Slowly add them in the oil and then fry on both sides.

Meeti Tikki is ready!

Turkish Kebabs

Ingredients

500 grams - Thinly Minced meat(Kheema)

Pudina powder-2 tsp

Kali mirch powder-3/4 tsp

Red chilly powder-1/4 tsp

Ginger garlic paste-1 tsp

Salt-1 tsp

Oil- 1 tbsp

Dry bread-4( I use stale bread)

Grated onions-2

Recipe

1. Remove water from the kheema by pressing in hands and keep in a plate.

2. Grate (shred) onions and remove water by pressing in hands and mix with kheema

3. Soften breads in water and then remove from water and squench water from it and mix it with rest of the ingredients.

4. Add pudina, kali mirch, salt, chilly powder, ginger garlic paste, oil to it.

5. One can put kheema in fridge for some time so it becomes easier to make kebabs. Take oil in hand and make long and shorter version of seekh kababs.

6. Fry in oil and serve hot.

It tastes awesome with combination of long fried potatoes.

For potatoes

1. Take 2-3 potatoes and peel them.

2. Cut them into half and make long pieces from each half.

3. Mix about 1/2 tsp salt in it.

4. It will leave water. Remove that water and fry it in oil.

Seekh kabab

1. To make it into seekh kabab use oven, Oil the Seekhs of the oven and then grill them.

Shammi Kebab( Mutton)

Ingredients

For kheema

500 gm - Thinly Minced meat ( goat or lamb )(Barik Kheema)
1 cup - Bengal gram dal / chana dal

1 -Onion( cut into 4-5 parts)
1 pot -Garlic
1 inch piece - Ginger
1 - Green chili
4 - Red chilly
1/2 tbsp- Pepper corns
3 - Cloves
3 - Big Cardamoms(seeds)

1/2 tsp- Cumin seeds(optional)

1/4 -1/2 cup - Water
Salt to taste- 1 tsp
Oil to deep fry

Kebab ingredients

1 - onion( small pieces)
2 - Green chili
1/2 cup - Chopped coriander leaves
1 - Egg

Method

1 ) In a cooker, put minced meat, onion, ginger, garlic, green chili, red chili(with seeds) , pepper corns, cumin seeds, cloves and Break kheema it if its a refrigerated kheema and mix all ingredients. Let kheema leave out a bit of water. Once it leaves water then add chana dal and some water. Add water according to the water kheema leaves as more water will not be good.

2 )Pressure cook above mentioned ingredients. It will take about 2-3 whistles to cook. Open and if there is some water left then dry it. Don't pester it with spoon.

4 ) Grind the cooked ingredients to a fine paste on a mortal pestel(Sil bitta) so its fine. Grind chilly and all dry ingredients first and then mince rest of the ingredients. Mix paste with finely chopped onion, green chili and coriander leaves. If the kheema is very moist don't add egg inside but make kebabs and dip it in blended egg and fry. or else add egg in it.

5. Keep it in fridge for an hour or more so it becomes dry and thick and its easy to make kebab.

6. Oil the plate and your hands and Make small balls and flatten. Use water to make it so and beat nicely so it doesn't scatter.

7 ) Heat oil in a kadai. Deep fry till golden brown in color on both sides.

Serve hot with coriander chutney.

Tip

While frying if the kababs are breaking apart, then dip each kabab in beaten egg and fry.

Home Made Curd!

Ingredients-

1 gallon whole milk - you can use 2% or skim milk
1 cup starter culture - plain yogurt at room temperature

I made curd of around 300 ml milk and used 1 tbsp of culture.

Method #1

1. Bring milk to just a boil and then set aside to cool. One can use partially hot milk (boiled before)in summers and boiled milk in winters. Discard any "skin" that may have formed on the milk. Heating the milk to boiling kills any undesirable bacteria that might be present and also changes the properties of the milk protein so that it gives the yogurt a firmer body and texture.

2. Cool the milk by using two vessels to blend it. The higher you take milk to cool it the more air enters it and more nicely curd come out. Just cool enough or until luke warm to touch. - about 110 degrees F . Never put it hot or the milk will break off.

3. Spread the starter culture into the container that you are going to make the yogurt in. Blend it nicely so it goes to all corner of the container. Pour the warm milk into it with one hand and keep mixing the milk with another. Don't stop mixing till the milk is poured. Mix well but gently. Do not incorporate too much air. If too much air is mixed in, the starter culture will grow slowly. Cover with a couple of towels top and bottom to maintain an even temperature. I set curd in a small thick bowl (mud make) and covered it tightly(2 knots) with a thick cloth and then covered it with a woolen cloth nicely. I used a hot case with a thick hot thing holding cloth inside and then cover it with 2 containers. I kept it in portion below the gas.

4.Keep covered at room temperature for 3-4 hours(summers). If we want a bit sweet yogurt one can mix half a teaspoon of sugar and set.

Yogurt containers can be kept warm in a gas oven with pilot light and electric bulb, or an electric oven with light bulb of sufficient wattage - approximately 100 watts. Wide-mouth thermos bottles, heating pads, and sunny windows also have been used. Do not stir the yogurt during this period. It takes more hours in winter and I usualy set them at night and its done by morning. Around 6 hours.

Refrigerate for 8 hours before serving. To store, keep in refrigerator. The yogurt will keep well, a week or two.


Method #2

1.Boil the milk and allow it to cool well. Use preferably whole milk to get a thick consistency of the yogurt.

2.Pour the milk to another vessel because, it might have remnants that we don't want.

3.Add cultured buttermilk 2-3 tablespoons.

4.Cover it & Place it in the oven and set oven to 350 degrees for 2-3 minutes.

5.Now switch off the oven!! Let the milk be in the oven overnight. Next morning you will have a rich thick yogurt !. Remove it from the oven and place it in the fridge.