Tres Leches

      I couldn't believe myself that this is my 100th post. Looks like that's a long travel of learning, cooking and it feels great to look back.
Tres Leches :
Tres Leches, I would say is Queen of cakes. One of the yummy cake I have had.
Very simple to make too.

Ingredients :

Eggs - 4

All purpose flour - 2 and 1/4 cup

Sugar - 1.5 cup

Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp

Baking powder - 1.5 tsp

Salt - 3/4 tsp

Cold water - 3/4 cup

For the milk :

Evaporated milk - 2, 12 oz can

Condensed milk - 2, 14 oz can

Heavy whipping cream - 2, 16 oz 

Method :

1. Mix all purpose flour, salt, baking powder.

2. Add  eggs and best them until fluffy.

3. Add sugar little by little and beat nicely.

4. Mix vanilla essence in cold water.

5. Add cold water and flour mixture in parts and beating in between.

6. Pour it in a 9 by 13 bowl.

7. Preheat the oven for 325 degree .

8. Put it in the oven for 35 to 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes clean.

9. Add all the milk together. Mix them well.

10. Once the cake is done, take it and put it outside for 5 minutes.

11. Start poking holes in the cake very close to each other while the cake is still hot as shown in 7th picture.

12. Start pouring the milk mixture on top of the cake while the cake is still hot.

13. The cake will absorb most of the milk. Even if there are milk floating, it's still ok.

14. For me, only 1/2 cup milk was left and I used it while serving.

15. Put this in the refrigerator for an overnight.

16. Make pieces and you can decorate it with whipping cream on top.

I tell you, it's so yummy. It's very rich too. Once in a while it's worth an extra mile walk for having it.

Enjoy the joy of cooking.

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Prawn fry

Ingredients :
Prawn - 1 lb
Onion - 1 medium size
Tomato - 2 small
Ginger garlic paste - 4 tsp
Chili powder - 2 tsp
Coriander powder - 2 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil - 2 Tbsp
Curry leaves - few


To marinate :
 Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt to marinate

Method :

1. Clean  and de-vein the prawn.

2. Marinate with the ingredients under marinate section and let it sit for few hours.

3. In a pan, add oil and when it is hot add curry leaves, add onion and fry well.

4. Add ginger garlic paste and sauté well.

5. Add tomato and salt and fry well. Make sure everything is fried well as we are not going to cook after prawn is added.

6. Add chili powder, coriander powder, with little water and fry well until dry.

7. Add prawns and mix well. Put the flame to medium and close the lid and cook for 6, 7 minutes.

8. Open the lid and let it dry. Add little more oil and little more curry leaves for fresh flavor.

Yummy prawn fry is ready.

Enjoy the joy of cooking.

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Watermelon mint juice

Watermelon mint juice

Refreshing drink that's best for this summer.

Ingredients
Watermelon - 3 cup
Ginger - 1 inch
Mint leaves - leaves from 3 stems
Salt to taste
Black pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
Honey - 3 tsp or to taste

Method :

1. Cut watermelon into pieces.
2. Blend ginger, mint, honey, pepper in a blender.
3. Add water melon and blend well.
4. Strain it and add some ice cubes.
5. Chill it in fridge and it's ready to have.

It is such a refreshing drink.


Enjoy the joy of cooking.

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Veg kurma

Ingredients :
Chilli - 3
Garlic - 5 pods
Ginger - a thumb size
Onion - 1 medium
Tomato - 1 big
Cloves - 3
Cinnamon - 1 inch
Fennel seeds -1/4 tsp
Carrot - 1 big
Peas 1/2 cup( if dried peas, soak and cook it )
Potato - 2
Beans - 10
Cocunut - 3/4 cup
Poppy seeds - 1 tsp

Step 1 To fry and grind :
Onion -  little less than 1/2
Tomato - little less than half
1.  In a pan, add oil and when it is hot, add fennel seeds, cloves, cinnamon, green chilli, ginger, garlic.
2. Fry them nicely. Add onion and fry nicely. Add tomatoes and fry.
3. Make it into a fine paste.

Step 2 Grind :
1. Soak poppy seeds in hot water for an hour.
2. Grind it with coconut.

Method :

1. In a pan, add oil. When it is hot, add curry leaves, rest of the onion and sauté well.
2. Add rest of the tomatoes and sauté well.
3. Add vegetables and sauté well.
4. Add the paste from step 1.
5. Add turmeric and salt and water and let the vegetables cook.
6. Once the vegetables are cooked, add paste from step 2.
7. When it starts boiling, add chopped coriander leaves and switch off the flame.

This goes well with chapathi, rice, idiyappam, appam idli, dosa.

Enjoy the joy of cooking.

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Veg biryani

Ingredients :
Onion - 1 medium
Tomato - 1 big
Garlic - 5
Ginger 2 inch
Green chilli - 2
Cloves - 3
Cinnamon - 1 inch
Bay leaves - 3
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
Vegetables- 2 cup
Mint - 15 Springs
Corainder 15 springs
Rice - 1.5 cup
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Corainder powder - 2 tsp
Biryani powder - 1 tsp
Lemon juice - from half lemon
Salt to taste
Oil - 5 Tbsp
Ghee - 2 Tbsp

To grind :
Onion - 1/4
Tomato - 1/4
Garlic - 5
Ginger 2 inch
Green chilli - 2
Cloves - 3
Cinnamon - 1 inch

Method :

1. Add little oil and saute the ingredients in the " To grind " section.
2. Grind it to a fine paste.
3. In a pan, add oil and Ghee and bay leaf and fennel seeds.
4. Add Chopped onions and fry nicely.
5. Add tomatoes and saute well. Add salt to it.
6. Add the grind paste to it and saute well.
7. Add corainder leaves and mint leaves and saute well.
8.Add chopped vegetables and saute well.
9, Add turmeric powder, Chilli powder, Coriander powder, Biryani powder.
10. Add rice and mix well.
11. Add 3 cup of water and let it cook.
12. You can either transfer it in rice cooker or let it cook in the same pan.
13. If doing in same pan, close the lid and let it cook.
14. Once the water is dried , simmer the flame and let it cook for 30 minutes.
Garnish it with chopped coriander leaves

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Pani in pani puri

Pani puri :
Keep yourself cool this summer. Flavored mint water is great to keep yourself cool.
One of my favorite snack in recent times.

Ingredients :
Mint leaves - 1.5 cup
Corainder leaves - 1/2 cup
Roasted cumin powder - 1 tsp
Hing - 1/8 tsp
Black salt - 1/2 tsp
Ginger powder - 1/4 tsp
Sugar - 5 tsp
Lemon - juice from half lemon
Green chilli - 3
Tamarind - lemon size ball
Salt to taste
Water 8 cup

Method :
1. Grind mint, corainder leaves, green chilli to a fine paste with 1/2 cup water
2. Take 7 cup of water. Add the step 1 to it.
3. Soak tamarind in 1/2 cup water. Take the pulp and add to it.
4. Add hing, black salt, roasted cumin powder, ginger powder, sugar, salt, lemon juice.
5. Put it in the fridge for overnight.

How to eat pani puri:
1. Make pani puri or buy it store bought. Iam using store bought one.
2. Make tamarind chutney.
3. Boil some potatoes and channa dhal.
4. Mash the potatoes and add some chopped coriander leaves, salt and chat masala and mix well.
5. Make a hole in the top of pani puri.
6. Add potato, coriander mixture to it.
7. Add few channa dhal.
8. Pour some tamarind chutney.
9. Now pour the pani and have it immediately.

Enjoy the joy of cooking.

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Tamarind chutney

Ingredients :
Tamarind - 3 lemon size
Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Jaggery - 1/2 cup
Chilli powder -1 tsp
Dry ginger powder -1/2 tsp
Salt to taste

Method :

1.  Soak tamarind in hot water and take juice from it.
2. Dry fry fennel  and cumin seeds and grind it to a fine powder.
3. In a pan add tamarind juice and bring it to boil.
4. When the juice starts boiling, add jaggery.
5. Let it boil. When the mixture is reduced to half, add chilli powder, ginger powder, and fennel powder and cumin powder.
6. Add salt. Check for taste and add if you feel like you need anything more.
7. Let it reduce so that it becomes thick.
8. Switch off the flame and let it cool.

Sweet, sour and spicy tamarind chutney is ready.

It goes well with chat items.

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Date Nut Balls

Date Nut Balls
I have been surfing for healthy snack and I loved this recipe.
Dates and nuts are so essential that it needs to be consumed everyday.
Putting together to make a snack was a great idea.
Definitely a healthy snack.

Ingredients :
Almonds - 1 cup
Cashews - 1 cup
Walnuts - 2/3 cup
Dates - 15 ( I used medjool dates )
Ghee - 1 tsp ( optional , I didn't use it )

Method :

1. Dry roast all the nuts separetly .
2. Take out the seeds of dates if it is not seedless.
3. Grind the dates into paste.
4. Grind the half of the nuts into fine powder and half into coarse mixture.
5. In a wide pan, add dates and nuts. Add ghee if you are adding.
6. Cook in a simmer flame until dates melts and everything combines together.
7. Switch off the flame and keep mixing everything.
8. When it is warm roll them into balls.

This can also be stored.

Enjoy the joy of cooking.

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Coriander chicken

Ingredients:                               

1. chicken - 1 lb

2. coriander leaves - leaves from around 25 stems

3. Few curry leaves  - (about 15)

4. green chillies -  4 or to taste
5.  poppy seeds - 2 tsp

6. cashew nuts  - 15 whole cashews

7. coriander powder - 2 tsp

8. cumin powder - 2 tsp
9. chili powder - 1/2 tsp

10. Yogurt - 1/3 cup

11.  Salt to taste

12. Oil - 2 Tbsp 

Method:

1.  Soak poppy seeds and cashews in hot water for few hours.
2. Grind coriander leaves, curry leaves, green chili into fine paste.
3. Add poppy seeds and cashews and grind it to fine paste.
4. In a pan, add oil and when it is hot, add onions and fry nicely.
5. Add ginger garlic paste and fry nicely.
6. Add tomatoes and fry nicely.
7. Add the paste from step 3. and add chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and cumin powder and sauté well.
8. Sauté nicely until oil separates.
9. Add chicken and yogurt and cook until chicken is tender.
10. Make sure to stir in between so that it doesn't burn in the bottom.

Yummy coriander chicken curry that goes great with rice and roti.

Enjoy the joy of cooking.

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Strawberry icecream

Ingredients :
Strawberry - 3/4 cup purée
Vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp
Heavy whipping cream - 1 and 1/2 cup
Condensed milk - 14 oz
Red color as required

Method :

1. Purée strawberry  and add condensed milk.
2. Add vanilla extract and red color and mix and put it in fridge for an hour.
3. Put the bowl and whisk attachment in the freezer.
4. Have heavy whipping cream in fridge.
5. After few hours, mix whipping cream and mixture from step 2.
6. Whip until it is thick.
7. Put it in airtight container and freeze it for atleast 8 hours.
8. Yummy homemade ice cream is ready.

Enjoy the joy of cooking

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Methi paratha

There are two ways to do this paratha. One with stuffing and another is mixing it in the flour.

     I prefer mixing it with the flour as you saute the leaves, the mixture reduces in size so much.

     You would need lot of filling for on paratha and it will be too strong in taste.

     So Iam mixing it in the flour and making parathas.

Ingredients :
Methi - 1 cup
Wheat flour - 1.5 cup
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Jeera - 1/4 tsp
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Corainder powder - 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala-1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Curd/ yougurt  - 2 tbsp

Method :
1. Chop the fenugreek leaves.
2. In a pan, add oil and when it is hot, add jeera, ginger garlic paste and saute well.
3. Add methi leaves, turmeric powder, Corainder powder, chilli powder, Garam masala and salt
    and saute well until the methi leaves are cooked. Let it cool.

4. Add the methi mixture to the flour and add little more salt if required.

5. Add Curd and knead them into a soft dough.

6. Take small ball and roll them into a flat bread.

7. Them in the tawa until they are cooked on both sides.

8. Healthy and tasty Methi paratha is ready.

Enjoy the joy of cooking

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Strawberry lassi

Strawberry lassi :
Let's beat the heat ....Summer is almost here and we need something to keep ourselves cool.
Planning to post more summer friendly food.

Ingredients :
Strawberry - 4 or to taste
Yogurt - 1/2 cup
Milk 1/2 cup
Sugar - 2 tsp or to taste
Salt a pinch

Method :
1. Blend strawberry, yogurt, milk, sugar and salt.
Keep it in the refrigerator for few hours and serve chilli
 Thats it ... A healthy Lassi is ready.

Enjoy the joy of cooking.

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Schezwan Veg fried rice

Ingredients :
Rice - 1 cup
Cabbage - 1 cup
Carrot - 1/2 cup
Capsicum / beans - 1/2 cup
Spring onion - 5 stalk
Schezwan sauce - 4 Tbsp or to taste
Ginger - 1 inch finely chopped
Garlic - 3 pods finely chopped
Salt to taste
Oil - 2 Tbsp

Method :

1. Cook rice . I used basmati rice. Let it cool. It should be cooked and rice should be separate.
2. Chop all the vegetables.
3. In a wide pan or wok add oil. When it is hot, add ginger, garlic and sauté well. Then add the white part of spring onions. Sauté it.
4. Then add carrot and capsicum/ beans. Sauté them for few minutes.
5. Add cabbage and sauté it.
6. Add Schezwan sauce and mix well.
7. Add rice and toss everything well.
Garnish it with chopped spring onion.

Enjoy the joy of cooking.

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Beetroot halwa

I can't believe that today (May 2 nd) is my 10th wedding anniversary.
I am very very glad that I have supporting husband  to accompany my life.
Even though there were lots of ups and down to begin with our life, after 10 years I am glad that I have a right person with me.  Even though we have lots of differences we have learnt how to respect each other views.  To make our life even more meaningful we have two great gifts, our kids.  Life can't be more beautiful than this.
Happy to be married and to lead a beautiful life with my loved ones.

Ingredients :
Beetroot - grated 4 cups heaped
Sugar - 1 cup or to taste
Milk - 4 cup
Ghee - 8 Tbsp
Cashew, almonds, dried grapes - few
Cardomom powder - 1/4 tsp

Method :

1. Grind grated beetroot into a coarse paste.
2. In a pan add a Tbsp of ghee and fry cashews, almonds and dried grapes.
3. Put it in a plate and add 2 more Tbsp of ghee and sauté the beetroot.
4. Add milk and let it cook.
5. Once the mixture is dry, add sugar and mix well.
6. Add cardamom powder, fried nuts and the leftover ghee.
7. Mix and let it dry and the ghee separates.

Yummy beetroot halwa is ready.

Enjoy the joy of cooking.

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