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Puffed Rice or Murmure Snack

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Nidhi

Kids always demanded potato chips or popcorn whenever we went for an outing. I wanted to give them something yummy which would make them forget chips etc. Once we went for a long drive and this Murmure snack or murhi was a big hit. These are very easy to prepare, very light, healthy and tasty. These take only ten minutes to prepare, have a long shelf life and are low in fat. These are also a perfect snack to carry with you while travelling. No need to buy unhealthy chips, snacks or chocolates for kids when you are travelling. They are also a perfect accompaniment to evening Tea when you don’t want to munch on something unhealthy (As you can see from my cups of tea )

Murmure are used in many other recipes like bhelpuri, jhal murhi or chikkis.
We usually make them with peanuts but this time as I had some chana at home we added that also to the murhi.

How to make Puffed Rice/ Murmure Snack

Preparation time: 5 minutes
cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
250 grams murmure or puffed rice
200 grams peanuts
100 grams chana (Bengal gram)
3 tbsp oil
¼ tsp mustard seeds or rai
½ tsp turmeric powder ( haldi)
salt to taste (I have used 1 tsp)
½ tsp red chili powder
½ tsp pudina/mint powder (optional)

To make Puffed Rice/ Murmure Snack

Heat oil in a big wok. First add the peanuts and sauté them for 2-3 minutes. Take them out when they are done. Now fry chanas for 3-4 minutes in the same oil. Take them out and mix with the peanuts. Add red chili powder to the nuts. Keep them aside.

Now add some mustard seeds to the oil. Once they start crackling add turmeric powder and immediately add puffed rice or murmure. Mix well so that murmure are uniformly coated with yellow color from turmeric. Add salt and keep on mixing. After 2-3 minutes murmure should be done. They will be crunchy. Add peanuts and chana to them and mix well. Take off the heat. Sprinkle Pudina powder over murmure and mix.

Store Puffed Rice/ Murmure Snack in an air tight container after they have cooled down completely. These have a long shelf life. In my kitchen you can always find one jar full of these yummy treats.

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Posted in healthy, indian, quick and easy, Recipe, snacks | Tagged healthy, indian, kids, quick and easy, snacks, vegetarian | 6 Comments

Amla Candy

Posted on February 23, 2013 by Nidhi

Indian gooseberry or Amla candy is probably the healthiest candy in the world. It has all the benefits of Amla. Amla is a great source of Vitamin C and is good for hair and eyes. It is used extensively in ayurvedic medicines.

Amlas are quite popular in Rajasthan and we make a lot of chutneys, pickles and jams from it. It is still hard to get kids to eat Amla pickles and chutneys but with this Amla candy there is no worry. My son simply loves it. I have kept a jar on dining table and I do not even have to ask kids to eat them.

I used to make them without beet root. They tasted exactly the same but were brownish in color. When my aunt in law was visiting us this time (remember the one who taught me Eggless Mayonnaise) she brought these cute purple amla candies and they were really hard to resist. Infact we finished her packet in 4 days. So I did not waste any time in making them.

These do not require any cooking and have to be left in the sun to dry. I did not get proper sunlight first day but on third day they were almost ready.

How to make Amla Candy

Preparation time: 15 minutes

No cooking required. It has to be left in Sun to dry for 3-4 days.

Ingredients:

1 kg Amla/Indian Gooseberry
½ beet root (optional for color)

3 cups sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black salt ( kaala namak)
1 tsp black pepper

To make Amla Candy

Wash all the Amlas thoroughly. Try to buy Amlas which are a little on yellow side. Green Amlas are generally very sour and require a lot of sugar.

Grate the amlas and the beet root and mix sugar, salt , black salt and pepper to it. Mix thoroughly. The beet root gives a really nice purplish color to Amla candy.

Spread in a big thali or tray and leave to dry in sun for 3-4 days. Amla candy is ready when all the juice is gone.

Amla candy can be stored for a year in an airtight container.

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Posted in fruits, healthy, indian, pickles, quick and easy, Recipe | Tagged Amla, fruits, healthy, indian, quick and easy, sweet and sour | 5 Comments

Eggless Mayonnaise

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Nidhi

Eggless Mayonnaise is one of the easiest thing to make at home. Home made version is not only tasty but also healthy as we are making it using curd. I have added some cream but you can skip that to make it healthier.

I have got this recipe from my Aunt in law (Sangeeta Chachiji) who makes it quite often. When I tasted it for the first time I could not believe that it was homemade. Once you taste homemade Mayonnaise you will never buy it from a store. It tastes so fresh and we can even add herbs of our choice.

You can use this in sandwiches, burgers and burritos. As this doesn’t take much effort and has a short shelf life, it is best to prepare it in small quantities. You can add the herbs directly to the mayonnaise or add them later while using it to keep the flavors fresh.

How to make Eggless Mayonnaise
Preparation time: 5 minutes
no cooking required
lasts 4-5 days

1 cup hung curd
3 tbsp fresh cream
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp sugar
¼ tsp black pepper ( she uses white pepper)
½ tsp salt
1 tsp herbs of your choice
To make Eggless Mayonnaise

Mix hung curd with all the ingredients and whisk for 2-3 minutes. Eggless Mayonnaise is ready. Keep refrigerated. It can keep fresh for 4-5 days.

To make the sandwich just apply Eggless Mayonnaise on bread slice. Spread salad on the slice. Your kids will love these Sandwiches and can be sent in their lunchboxes.

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Posted in bread, breakfast, healthy, kids lunch box, milk, quick and easy, Recipe, salads | Tagged bread, breakfast, healthy, milk, quick and easy, salad, vegetarian | 6 Comments

Strawberry Smoothie

Posted on February 15, 2013 by Nidhi

Strawberry smoothie or milkshake is everyone’s favorite drink. But we rarely get nice fresh strawberries in our area. So we have to wait till feb or march to get our hands on this amazing fruit. It’s beautiful rich red color and tangy taste makes it really irresistible. We had saved 2-3 Strawberries for garnish but by the time we reached the photo part, all of them have vanished except one.

Today, the moment I entered the kitchen to make Strawberry smoothie, I was told to stay out of the kitchen by Axat who was in no mood of letting this chance go away from his hands. So my duty today is to wash the berries, remove their tops, arrange the ingredients and then get everything going. There are some items which are made mostly by Axat (when he is at home) which includes shakes, smoothies, anything involving Chocolates or noodles. It’s a long list which suits me just fine .

With Sun and Rain playing hide and seek whole morning, it was getting really tough to get even decent photographs. Again Axat came to my rescue and took some decent photographs. Am I lucky or Am I lucky? I think we all know the answer

How to make Strawberry Smoothie
Preparation time: 5 minutes
no cooking required
Makes 3 glasses

Ingredients:

8-10 fresh Strawberries
1 ½ cup milk
½ cup curd
4 tbsp sugar

To make Strawberry Smoothie
Put strawberries in a blender. Add sugar, curd and ½ cup of milk. Blend until smooth. Now add rest of the milk and blend for another minute. You can add or subtract milk according to your preference. If you like thick smoothies 1 cup of milk would be quite enough.

Pour into glasses and garnish with Strawberries.

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Posted in breakfast, Drinks, fruits, healthy, Kids, milk, Recipe | Tagged breakfast, drinks, fruits, healthy, kids, milk, quick and easy, Strawberry | Leave a comment

Recipes for Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Nidhi

Hi friends. All set to celebrate Valentine’s day!! I really wish valentine’s day could fall on a weekend every year. But seriously, I can not complain this time as we already had a great Valentine’s day celebration, in advance, with some friends last weekend.

So today I’ll share with you some of my favorite recipes for Valentine’s Day. Have a great day, cook some delicious food and express your love and affection to a someone special in your life.

5 Minute chocolate mug cake - This is on top of my list as this is a perfect dessert for Valentine’s day. You can be make it in individual cups or share from the same cup, it’s your choice

Oreo Truffles - These are very easy to make amd can be prepared in advance and then enjoyed at leisure with your valentine.

Nutella Pop Tarts - I made these last year on valentine’s day. Turned out very delicious!!

Turkish Carrot Truffles - These look really cute, have an adorable red color and are quite healthy.

Vegetarian Spinach Lasagna - This is my favorite recipe for Valentine’s day. As I can finish all the work cooking the lasagna, cleaning the kitchen before Axat is home and then I just have to reheat it whenever required.

Vegetable-Au-Gratin- Prepare your baked veg in advance. Just toast some bread and enjoy it with hot soup.

Vegetable Pie - This is also a complete meal and you’ll be free to sit back and enjoy it with your family.

Hope you have lots of fun making these dishes. Do you have some special dish you prepare on Valentine’s day? If so, we would love to hear about it.

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Turkish Carrot Truffles

Posted on January 23, 2013 by Nidhi

So what are we celebrating with these yummy healthy Turkish Carrot Truffles.
Two reasons to celebrate. First of all my fractured bone has healed completely. I have to take some care and physiotherapy.
And second reason is that one of our favorite cousin is visiting us after a very long time.

Since Axat has returned from Turkey, he has been singing praises of Turkish food. He has even put photos of Turkish pizza on my mobiles screensaver just to remind me what I have missed. So I was on a lookout for some Turkish recipe to satisfy my cravings.

When I saw Turkish Carrot Truffles recipe on this site, I could not believe that something so tempting could be so easy to make and so healthy. And the color is so beautiful with fresh carrots. You have to try this recipe.

I have already posted Oreo Truffles and it is needless to say that my kids love them. With Oreo and Chocolate that is not hard. These truffles made with carrot and coconut are giving Oreo Truffles a stiff competition.

How to make Turkish Carrot Truffles
recipe source: cooking easy
Preparation time: 10 minutes
cooking time: 10 minutes+20 minutes
Makes around 22-25 truffles depending on size

Ingredients:

6-7 medium sized Carrots
1 ½ cup Sugar
200 gms desiccated coconut (I have used store bought)

Juice of ¼ Lemon
7-8 drops Vanilla Essence
½ tsp cinnamon powder (Dalchini)
pistachio to roll truffles

Peel and wash Carrots. Boil them. I have used pressure cooker to boil the carrots. Puree the boiled carrots without the water.

Do not discard the water in which carrots are boiled. You can us this to add to gravies or for making dough.

Heat the carrot puree with sugar. In the original recipe 2 cups of sugar has been used. But I have used only 1 ½ cup sugar. The amount of sugar will depend on the quality and size of carrots. I would advice to start with 1 ½ cup and add more only after tasting.

Let it simmer on medium to low heat for 20 minutes. Add vanilla, cinnamon, lemon juice. Keep 3 tbsp coconut aside for rolling truffles. Mix rest of the coconut and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Take off the gas and let the mixture cool for around 15-20 minutes.

When the mixture has cooled down a little and is comfortable to handle, make balls of desired size.

Roll in coconut or pistachio and put in the fridge to set.

keep in an airtight container in fridge.

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Posted in healthy, Recipe, sweets | Tagged carrots, coconut, desserts, healthy | 18 Comments

Gajar ka Halwa

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Nidhi

A very happy new year to all my friends!!!

Today I am sharing with you Gajar ka Halwa which is the most common dessert in winters and can be found in our house all the time. And why not, with fresh carrots available in the market and the need to finish every meal with a dessert, this Gajar ka halwa definitely scores high.

But first let me explain why I have not posted anything for quite some time. So here’s the culprit.

Yes. This is my plastered left hand which I fractured on our vacations in Dubai. How stupid is that? But with me nothing is impossible especially getting hurt on kids rides. Especially after both my kids have managed them expertly. There was just one saving grace that the accident happened on last day just few hours before we were to catch the return flight (At least the holidays were not spoiled and we were able to enjoy Dubai ).

I have posted a healthy i.e. low fat version of Gajar ka halwa which I have learned from my mother in law. She is a very health conscious person and tries to make everything healthy by reducing oil and spices without compromising on taste. The milk used in the recipe is low fat and you can reduce the quantity of ghee if you like.

This recipe is so easy that you can make it with one hand like I did. Just got some help for getting carrots grated. That is also the reason why I could not take a lot of photographs. But as I make it quite often I will try to take some photos of the process and post them later.

How to make Gajar ka Halwa
Preparation time: 10 minutes
cooking time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

1 kg red carrots
1 liter milk
¾-1 cup sugar
1-2 tbsp ghee
½ tsp powdered Cardamom ( Elaichi powder)
3-4 tbsp cashews and raisins

To make Gajar ka Halwa

Peel, wash and grate carrots. Boil milk in a non stick pan. After it boils add grated carrots. Let it simmer on medium/low flame till the carrots becomes soft and there is no milk visible in the pan. Keep on stirring in between.
Add sugar and cardamom powder. Turn the flame on high and keep on stirring till the sugar dissolves and the halwa thickens. Now add 1 or 2 tbsp ghee, cashews and raisins as per your liking. Cook for another 2 minutes.

Your gajar ka halwa is ready. Serve hot or cold.

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Posted in healthy, indian, Indian Sweets, milk, Recipe, sweets | Tagged carrots, desserts, healthy, indian, milk | 10 Comments

Gulab Jamun

Posted on November 15, 2012 by Nidhi

Who doesn’t like Gulab Jamun. These are the most popular sweet to be served in weddings and parties in India. And if you couple them with ice cream, the taste is simply out of this world. Hot Gulab Jamun and cold Ice cream… wow, I am Drooling. J

I have been thinking of trying them for a long time but I always thought that they required a lot of effort and always backed out. But the decision was taken out of my hand when Axat came home with mava and I had no other option but to use it. And now that I have made them I know they will be a regular feature in my house especially if there is a gathering.

They do take some time to fry as they are fried on low heat but the effort is not much. I have tried this Recipe from Tarla Dalal’s Site and I have changed it a little to suit my taste. The recipe is quite simple and easy. The Gulab Jamuns were very soft and tasty. Everybody in our house loved them.

How to make Gulab Jamun
cooking time: 30-45 minutes
makes 40 medium size Gulab jamun
Adapted from: tarla dalal

Ingredients:

For the Gulab Jamun :
500 gms mava/ khoya( If you want to make mava at home you can try this recipe. I have used readymade mava)

10 tbsp plain flour (maida)
¼ tsp cardamom (elaichi ) powder

Ghee/ oil for deep frying

For the sugar syrup:
3 cups sugar
½ cup water
A few saffron (kesar) strands
1/4 tsp cardamom powder

To make Gulab jamun
in a large pan dissolve sugar in water and bring to a boil. Simmer on low flame for some time. Add saffron and cardamom powder to the syrup. The syrup should not reach one string consistency. In one string consistency, syrup sugar crystallizes on cooling and the syrup becomes hard.

In the meantime start making the dough. In a bowl mix together flour, cardamom powder and the mava with soft hands to make a dough. Divide into equal sized balls. I made around 40 balls but the number really depends on the size of the ball.

Roll these into perfect round. There should be no cracks on the balls.

Deep fry into ghee or oil (I have used ghee) on slow flame turning after some time so that they fry evenly. These should be golden in color. I have fried them a little on dark brown side because that is how we like it.

Drain and put in the syrup immediately. Syrup should be warm. Let them stand for 2 hours. You can eat these immediately or refrigerate them for future use. They stay fresh in the fridge for around a week if you don’t finish them before that.

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Posted in indian, Indian Sweets, Recipe, sweets | Tagged desserts, Diwali, indian | 9 Comments

Happy Diwali 2

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Nidhi

Happy Diwali to all of you!!!

Have lots of fun, Eat lots of sweets, meet lots of people and try not to fire lots of crackers.

For sweets you can try these recipes from the blog

N utella pop tarts
Sandesh with Nutella
Coconut Burfi
Apple pie
5 minutes eggless chocolate mug cake
Homemade Bounty bars
Oreo Truffles
Phirni
Kalakand

and for craft try these posts

Decorative Tea Lights

Handmade cards for Diwali

Handmade Cards

Diwali decoration

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Posted in Craft activity, handmade cards, indian, Kids Activity, sweets | Tagged activity, desserts, Diwali, Diwali Craft, handmade cards, indian | Leave a comment

Kalakand

Posted on November 11, 2012 by Nidhi

Kalakand may be one of the easiest sweet to make at home. It’s main ingredients are milk and sugar. That is why it is a very healthy sweet for kids.

I am having a really hard time in keeping my kids away from it. At this rate, I don’t think that I will have any Kalakand left to serve on Diwali. May be I will make some more tomorrow. I would strongly recommend you to try this recipe. Try to avoid buying sweets from sweet shops during Diwali.

I saw the recipe on this amazing site. I have not made much changes to the recipe as it is a very basic recipe. If you want to see a video tutorial with lots of tips you can visit Manjula’s kitchen.

How to make Kalakand

cooking time: 30-45 minutes
recipe source: Manjula’s kitchen

Ingredients:
2 litres milk
½ cup sugar
½ tsp cardamom powder
juice of 1 lemon
almonds and pistachio for decorating

To make Kalakand
Boil 1 litre of milk in a pan. When it comes to boil add lemon juice to the milk. Keep stirring for 2 minutes till chenna/paneer separates from the liquid. Line a strainer with a cotton cloth and pour chenna mixture in it. Tie the cloth and let it hang for 5 minutes to remove the whey. Wash it with water to remove the sour taste.
Boil the remaining milk in a heavy bottomed pan untill it reduces to half. Now add the paneer and keep on cooking on medium flame. When the mixture thickens and there is no milk visible add the sugar and cardamom powder. Keep on cooking the mixture until it leaves the sides of the pan.

Set the kalakand in a greased tray and decorate with almonds and pistachio. If you want you can sprinkle cardamom powder at this stage rather than adding with sugar to keep its color white.
Leave them in fridge to set for some time and cut in the desired shape.