A Spoonful of Thought

  Ingredients: 1 litre milk 1 tsp oregano 1 tsp red chilli flakes 2-3 strands of coriander leaves (only leaves finely chopped) 1 tsp mixed herbs salt to taste 2 tbsp vinegar/lemon juice 3 tbsp water 1 tbsp maida/refined flour 1 tbsp corn flour water as required Salt & pepper powder to taste 1 cup breadcrumbs/roughly crushed cornflakes oil for deep frying Recipe: 1. Take a clean saucepan add milk and switch on the flame and keep it on medium heat, stir and bring to a boil. 2. Once boiled, low down the flame and add the oregano, red chilli flakes, mixed herbs, freshly chopped coriander leaves and salt to taste, mix well, stir and cook for last 3-4 minutes. 3. In a separate small bowl, add vinegar/lemon juice and water, mix well and add the mixture, slowly and gradually to the boiling milk, the milk will start to curdle and the whey will start to separate. 4. Once the milk solids have separated from the whey, strain it by passing through a sieve, wash the collected milk so

Ingredients: 2 cups maida 1 cup powdered sugar 1/4 cup coco powder 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 3 tbsp butter 1.5 cups milk 2 tsp vinegar 2 tsp vanilla essense 2 tsp red food color 1/2 cup white choco chips 1/2 cup water Recipe: 1. In a blender, powder the cup of sugar. 2. In a sauce pan boil the milk. Switch off the flame. 3. Add the hot milk in a mixing bowl. Add butter and let it melt and mix in milk. 4. Let the milk to cool down till lukewarm. Add vinegar to warm milk. 5. Add vanilla essense and red food color. Mix well. 6. Add a sieve over the mixing bowl. Add maida, coco powder, powdered sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. 7. Sieve the dry ingredients and add them to the wet ingredients using cut and fold method. 8. If the mixture is very thick add water as required and mix well. The batter should be thick pourable consistency. 9. Add white choco chips to the batter and mix well. 10. Preheat the otg for 10 mins at 180 degrees. 11. Pour th

Ingredients: 4 hot dog breads 250 gms paneer 1 tbsp oil 1 tsp cumin/jeera seeds 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste 2 green chillies finely chopped 1 medium onion finely chopped 1 small green capsicum finely chopped 1/4 tsp haldi/turmeric powder 1/2 tsp garam masala 1 tbsp red chilli powder 1 tbsp coriander powder 1 tsp pav bhaji powder 3 medium tomatoes finely chopped 1 tbsp ketchup/tomato sauce 1 tbsp red chilli sauce 2 tbsp coriander leaves freshly chopped tomato sauce/ketchup mayo mustard sauce butter Recipe: 1. Heat oil in a pan. Add jeera seeds, green chillies, ginger-garlic paste. Saute for a min. 2. Add chopped onions and saute till they turn translucent.  3. Then add capsicum and mix well. Saute till they are soft. 4. Add haldi, red chilli powder, coriander powder and pav bhaji masala. Mix well and saute for a min more. 5. Add in chopped tomatoes, tomato sauce, red chilli sauce. Mix well. Cover and cook for 5 mins. 6. Add chopped paneer and garam masala. Mix well. 7. Finally add corian

Ingredients: 1   cup  thin  poha/beaten rice 2   potato/aloo   boiled & mashed 1 tbsp sooji/rava 1 tbsp curd 1   chilli   finely chopped 2   clove   garlic   finely minced 1  tsp   mixed herbs 1 tsp   chilli flakes 1/2  tsp   pepper powder 2   tbsp   coriander leaves   finely chopped salt to taste 1/4 cup   maida 1 tbsp rice flour oil  for frying Recipe: 1. In a small mixing bowl add curd and 2 tsp water, whisk to smooth. To this add sooji and keep it aside for 10 mins. 2. In a  grinder take 1 cup poha and blend to a fine powder. 3. Add mashed potato, chopped chilli, garlic cloves, soaked sooji, mixed herbs, chilli flakes and pepper powder. 4. Also add chopped coriander leaves and salt. Mix well. 5. Combine well forming a soft dough. Keep it aside for 5 mins. 6. Now add maida and rice flour. Combine well into dough. 7. Grease palms with oil and pinch a small dough. 8. Roll to a rope thickness making sure it's uniform throughout. 9. Cut to a length of your choice. 10. Deep fry

Ingredients: 1 cup moong dal 1/2 cup sabudana/sago (soaked for 4-6 hrs) 2 tbsp rice (soaked for 2 hrs) 1/2 cup grated coconut 250 gms palm jaggery powder(adjust as required) salt to taste 1 tbsp chopped cashews 1 tbsp raisins 1 tsp cardamom seeds crushed ghee Recipe: 1. In a big sauce pan, heat 3-4 litre water and bring to boil. 2. Rub and dry clean moong dal using clean cloth. 3. Add the dal to the hot water. Let it cook till dal is 3/4th done in hot water in open.  4. Drain the water from sabudana and rice. 5. Add soaked sabudana to the cooked dal. Stir well and let it cook along. Add water is the mixture thickens. 6. In a blender add grated coconut and soaked rice. Grind to paste with enough water. 7. Add this paste to the cooking dal mixture. Mix well. 8. Add 1/2 tsp of salt and mix well. 9. Add palm jaggery to the dal mixture and mix well. Our payasam is almost ready. 10. Fry chopped cashews and raisins in ghee and add these along with crushed cardamom the same to payasam. 11. Yum

  Ingredients: 3-4 Silver Mackerel 3 tbsp kashmiri red chilli powder 1 tsp haldi salt to taste lemon juice few curry leaves 2 tbsp oil For gravy masala: 10-12 dry red chillies/Byadge dry red chillies 1-1/2 tsp coriander seeds 1 tsp jeera/cumin seeds 4-5 peppercorns 4-5 methi/fenugreek seeds 1/4 tsp ajwain/carom seeds 1 tsp haldi/turmeric powder 1 green chilli 1 inch ginger 4-5 garlic cloves 1 lemon sized balls of tamarind 1 medium onion 3 tbsp grated coconut 2 tsp coconut oil Recipe: 1. Clean the mackerels. Depending on the size of the fish you can either leave them whole or cut them into 2-3 pieces. Marignate fish in a paste made with salt, red chilli powder, haldi and lemon juice for an hr. 2. In a small kadai, heat coconut oil. Add coriander seeds, cumin seeds, carom seeds, peppercorns, dry red chillies, methi seeds, green chillies and coconut. Saute/Roast for 2-3 mins. Keep it aside. 3. Grind the above roasted ingredients along with grated coconut, garlic flakes, ging

Ingredients: 2 chicken breasts 6 cheese cubes 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste 2 tpbsp mayo 2 tbsp cream cheese chilli flakes mixed herbs italian seasoning salt to taste 2-3 potatoes sliced 2 carrots chopped 2 tomatoes sliced 1/2 green & red capsicum sliced Recipe: 1. Clean the chicken breast and slit them into halves, each piece. Beat the chicken softly from all sides. 2. In a mixing bowl add grated cheese cubes, ginger-garlic paste, mayo, cream cheese, tsp of chilli flakes and mixed herbs. Add salt and  mix well all ingredients. 3. Marignate the chicken with the above mixture. Fill in the mixture in between the breast too. Marignate for an hr. 4. Preheat otg for 10 mins at 200 degrees. 5. Grease the baking tray, place the marignated chicken in the baking tray. 6. Now add and spread sliced potatoes, tomatoes, capsicum and carrots all around chicken pieces. 7. Add the rest of the marignation over the veggies and chicken. 8. Sprinkle chilli flakes and italian seasoning. Place the tray bac

Ingredients: 2 eggs 2 bread slices 1 cheese slice butter pepper powder salt to taste Recipe: 1. Beat the eggs to smooth by adding little salt. 2. Heat the pan, grease with butter and toast one side of both the breads. 3. Remove the breads and spread little butter and pour the beaten eggs. 4. Spread the egg all over the pan.  5. Now take both the bread and place the soft side over the omelette. Quickly turn the sides and place the toasted side of bread over the omelette with little space between two breads. 6. Cover and let omelette to cook. Once one side is done turn the omelette to cook from other side along with bread. 7. After 2 mins fold the omelette to inside of bread from all four sides. 8. Place the cheese slice over one bread, sprinkle little pepper and salt. Finally fold and place the other bread over the cheese bread.

Ingredients: 2 cup curd/yogurt 2 cup water 1 tsp ghee 1 tsp mustard seeds 1 tsp urad dal 1 tsp chana dal 2 tsp cumin/jeera seeds few methi/fenugreek seeds 2 dried red chillies broken few curry leaves 4-5 garlic cloves crushed 2 green chillies slit 1 small onion chopped 1 small tomato chopped 1/4+1/4 tsp turmeric a pinch of hing 1 tbsp soaked rice 2 tbsp coconut sliced salt to taste 1 tbsp lemon juice Recipe: 1. In a large mixing bowl take 2 cup curd, 1 cup water and salt Whisk well and prepare smooth buttermilk. In case buttermilk is not sour add in 1 tbsp lemon juice. Mix well and keep it aside. 2. In a grinder add soaked rice, green chillies, coconut slices, cumin seeds, garlic cloves and haldi. Add little water and blend to a paste for gravy. 3. In another pan heat ghee and mustard seeds and hing. Let it splutter and then add urad dal, chana dal, methi seeds, dried red chilli and few curry leaves. Saute for a min. 4. Add chopped onions and saute till they are soft. Later a

Ingredients: 2 cup or 400 ml fresh cream/whipping cream 1 cup condensed milk 5 ml butterscotch essence 2-3 drops of yellow color For sweet crunch/ praline : 1/2 cup jaggery 2 tbsp water 2 tbsp cashews 1 tbsp butter Recipe: 1. Remove the chilled fresh cream/whipping cream in a steel bowl and keep it in a freezer for 10 mins. 2. To prepare the sweet crunch: In a non stick pan add jaggery and water. Stir and let it fully melt on medium flame. 3. Add in butter and mix well. the mixture will become shiny. Bring the mixture to boil and let it simmer for 5-7 mins. Check by dropping a small drop in water, it should become hard.  4. To this add the roughly chopped cashews and mix well. 5. Finally pour the mixture over a greased plate and let it cool down completely. Once completely cooled break into pieces. 6. Add them to zip lock bag and crush them further. Keep it aside for later use. 7. Take fresh cream/whipping cream kept in fridge in a steel bowl.The cream should be chilled. In another big

Ingredients: For marignation: 500 boneless chicken red chilli powder black pepper powder 1 tbsp lemon juice salt to taste For creamy lemon sauce: 1 cup water/ chicken broth 1 small onion finely chopped 1 tbsp garlic finely chopped 2 tsp red chilli flakes 1 tsp thyme 2 tsp mixed herbs 2 tbsp salted butter 1 tbsp olive oil 1/4 cup thick fresh cream 1 lemon juice 2-3 cheese slices To garnish: handful chopped coriander leaves few lemon wedges Recipe: 1. Clean chicken and marignate the same with salt, red chilli and pepper powder in lemon juice for 30 mins. 2. In a mixing bowl add 1 cup water/chicken broth. To this add chopped onions and garlic cloves. Then add thyme, red chilli flakes, mixed herbs. Mix well and keep it aside for 30 mins. 3. In a non stick pan heat olive oil. Add marignated chicken to hot oil. Mix well. 4. Cover and let chicken cook for 15 mins. Once done remove the chicken in a plate. 5. In the same kadai, add the water/broth mixture prepared earlier. Mix well. 6. Bring to

Ingredients: For Dal Mixture thats go into dough: 3/4 cup urad dal 1 inch ginger 1 green chilli 1 tsp red chilli powder 1 tsp coriander powder  1/2 tsp garam masala 1 tsp saunf (fennel) 1 tsp kasuri methi 1 tsp salt  For Dough: 1+ 3/4 cups wheat flour 1/2 cup rava (sooji, semolina) 1/2 to 3/4 cup of luke warm water 1 tbsp oil or ghee Recipe: 1. Use urad dal without the skin. Wash the urad dal nicely & soak the dal in enough water for 1-2 hours.  2. Strain the dal and discard the water. Now using mixer, grind the dal along with add in the ginger, chilli, red chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala, saunf, kasuri methi & salt.  3. Use the pulse mode or grind the dal by starting & stopping the grinder briefly so that we get a coarse dal mixture. You can add minimum water to grind the dal if required. Dal ki pitthi is ready. 4. Now in a mixing bowl add wheat flour, rava, dal mixture and ghee. Use luke warm water to knead a stiff dough. Add the water gradually so th

Ingredients: 1 cup yellow moong dal 1/2 cup finely chopped onions 1 green chilli finely chopped 1 tsp ginger grated 2 tsp red chilli powder 1 tsp grounded black pepper 1 tbsp grounded crushed coriander seeds 1 tsp ajwain 1 tsp saunf handful freshly chopped coriander leaves salt to taste Oil for frying Recipe: 1. Clean yellow moong dal. Soak dal in enough water for 4-5 hrs. 2. Drain all the water and grind to paste with minimum water. 3. In a mixing bowl, add the moong dal paste. 4. To this add salt. Now whisk the batter till it is fluffy. 5. Now add chopped onions, chillies, grated ginger, red chilli powder, grounded pepper, grounded coriander seeds, ajwain, saunf, freshly chopped coriander leaves. 6. Mix all ingredients together. Adjust salt as per taste. 7. Heat oil for frying. Once the oil is hot, reduce the flame a little and test the oil by adding a small piece of batter into the oil, the pakoda should immediately rise up & oil should be bubbling around the pakoda.  8