in love with food: March 2009

March 29, 2009

CHOAQ VAGAN (HOT & SPICY KASHMIRI EGGPLANT)

choaq vagan.jpg

Choaq Vagan are a favorite in all kashmiri homes, we love these sour and spicy eggplant with rice, and I feel they are the perfect accompaniment for any meat dish, the sourness perfectly offsets the meaty flavors,I sometimes pack up some with a parantha for a quick, spicy snack!

If you are interested in authentic kashmiri food, do check out my other posts in the sidebar, for newbies I also have an illustrated list of special kashmiri ingredients here.

Ingredients-

Small brinjals/eggplant-1/2 kg

Tamarind imli-1 walnut sized ball, boiled in a cup of water and strained

Garlic paste-1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds-1/2 tsp

Kashmiri red chilli powder-1 tsp

Onion paste-2 tbsp

Turmeric-1/2 tsp

Green cardamom powder- a pinch

Cinnamon powder-1/4 tsp

Black cardamom powder-a pinch

Dry ginger powder-1/4 tsp

Refined oil for deep frying

Yogurt 1/2 cup

Method-

Score eggplants into four and wash well, heat oil and fry a few at a time till reddish, drain and keep aside.Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan, add the cumin seeds, onion paste and garlic paste, fry till brown add the rest of the ingredients and season with salt, fry till masala leaves sides of pan, add a cup of water and then add eggplant, cook for another 10 minutes, serve piping hot!

choaq vagan1.jpg

March 25, 2009

ARMENIAN CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH ALMONDS

armenian chocolate cake with almonds.JPG

An Armenian friend taught me how to bake this exotic cake, she is a professional and has her own bakery in Armenia,so you can just imagine what a great experience it was learning from her,I really loved the rich, velvety, nutty taste of this superb cake.I tried to learn other dishes too, but most of the ingredients were unavailable here in India, so all we did was make loads of cakes and she also made a wheat based yogurt soup, which was also very nice.I will definitely be making this cake a dozen times over, the rich frosting/icing is particularly special, here's the recipe....

Ingredients-

Flour-2 cups

Baking powder-3 tsp

Powdered sugar-3/4 cup

Salt-1/2 tsp

Egg-1

Milk-1 cup

Melted butter-1/4 cup

Finely ground almonds-1/2 cup

Cocoa powder-2 tbsp

for frosting-

Full cream milk-2 cups

Cocoa powder-2 tbsp

Sugar-2 tbsp

knob of butter/refined oil

Method-Preheat oven, line and grease a cake tin.Take a large clean bowl, add all the ingredients and whisk together till just mixed and little lumpy, pour into pan and bake at 200C for 45 minutes, it will rise well.Take a small saucepan and add ingredients for the frosting, boil rapidly for 20-25 minutes till thick,add butter/oil, let cool.Ice cake with frosting and decorate with some slivered almonds, here your Armenian chocolate cake is ready to be served...yummmmm...so easy and yet so elegant...

armenian cake.JPG

This lovely cake is off to-Let's go nuts-Almonds event and to Poornima's for the love of chocolate event

Technorati : cakes and bakes

March 21, 2009

SPICY DAHI BHALLA(lentil dumplings in yogurt)

Whenever you think of Indian street food, the first thing that comes up is chaat papdi, dahi bhalle, samose, jalebi’s and so on…,coming to think of it, the scene is actually totally dominated with “chaat” and it’s variants, the sweet,sour,salty taste of chaat is loved by all, 99% of us find it irresistible and most of us salivate at the mere thought of it…

I think the combination of the freshest and best ingredients is the recipe for superb dahi bhalle, In fact I like it more than “papdi chaat”, the soft melting bhalla’s are mind blowing!Here I am taking it a notch higher and stuffing them with dry fruit, bhallas that are stuffed like this and shaped into semi circ'les are known as “gujiya”,not to be confused with the sweet version of it, this is salty, live, robust and bursting with energy….a definite kick to the tastebuds and a must try!!!

Ingredients-
Urad dhuli dal(white lentils)-1/4 cup
Mung dhuli dal(yellow lentils)-3/4 cup
Cool, whipped fresh yogurt-1/2 kg
Fresh ginger juliennes
Roasted cumin seeds powdered-2 tbsp
Garam masala-1 tsp
Fresh ground red chilli powder-acc. to taste
Tamarind paste-1/2 cup
Sugar-1/2 cup
Boiled kabuli chana- 1/2 cup
Fresh chopped coriander-1/2 cup
Asafetida-1/4 tsp
Almonds/cashews and raisins-a few
Black pepper powder-acc.to taste
Refined oil for deep frying

Method-

Soak both the dals overnight, next morning grind to a smooth paste with the help of little water.add asafetida, coriander and some chopped green chillies if desired, salt and black pepper, shape into semi circles as shown in picture and stuff with sliced almonds/cashews and raisins, shape with wet hands as it will be sticky-

Keep oil hot in a kadhai ready, drop two at a time into the oil, fry till golden, meanwhile put the tamarind paste and sugar to a boil, stirring frequently to make the imli chutney, add some garam masala and boil rapidl till thick, season and keep aside.

Drop the gujiyas into a pan of hot water and soak for 5 minutes.

To serve, squeeze water out of gujiyas by pressing down lightly with hands, place on serving plate, drizzle cooled whipped yogurt, then imli chutney, garam masala, chilli flakes, chana, ginger juliennes, salt, roasted cumin seed powder, pepper and green coriander as shown in picture…indulge in a piece of heaven!!!

Technorati Tags: indian street food,dahi bhalle,chaat

March 18, 2009

CRISPY NAMKEEN- BESAN SEV

I made this on Holi, as my mom really loves it in fact anyone who tastes this once is bound to do so, it is simply fabulous with a cup of Tea/Coffee, and is very addictive! You can make loads in advance as this keeps well for weeks stored in an airtight container, have fun munching away…

Ingredients-
Gramflour(besan)-2 cups
Garlic paste- 1 tbsp
Ajwain- 1/2tsp
Salt –acc. to taste
Oil –2 tbsp
Red chilli powder-1/2 tsp
Black pepper powder-1/2 tsp
Refined oil for deep frying

Method-

Combine all the above and with the addition of water knead into a smooth dough, just be careful while adding water, add little at a time, or dough will be too sticky, use oiled hands and rest the dough awhile if it seems too sticky to handle. Next take a sev press which has these holes in the bottom and oil the press, make a cylinder of the dough and stuff into press, turn around while keeping a wok of hot oil ready, press out directly into oil, a small batch at a time and fry till crisp.Drain on paper towels.Repeat with rest of the dough.

Garlic paste adds a special flavor but can be omitted if you want something regular.A great way of serving this sev is with some chopped onion, tomatoes, coriander and lemon juice on top, yum!

This namkeen is off to SWC-Meals on wheels, as it can be stored without worrying about spoilage and is great while travelling.

Technorati Tags: snacks,besan sev,namkeen,bhujia

March 16, 2009

CREAMY CHICKEN SANDWICHES

These are one of my favorite snack food,incredibly soft and delicious with a lovely crunch to them and so easy to put together!,just looking at the pictures makes me want to get up and fix one for myself!!

Here’s how to make them-I simply slice up 2 freshly boiled chicken breasts, add 2 tbsp fresh cream +1 tbsp mayonnaise, season with salt ,loads of pepper and about a quarter teaspoon mustard powder,the filling is now ready, (at times I also like to add 1 tbsp cheese spread to make it extra creamy and cheesy), next butter bread on both sides, spread with the prepared filling, I often add a fresh lettuce leaf from my garden,or bought from the market, stack the slices up and remove crusts, it is better to use sandwich bread preferably a day old to make this easy.These are so good for picnics too, just wrap in a slightly moist napkin, serve with potato crisps! yummy!!!

These are off to

Divya’s Think spice think pepper event.

March 5, 2009

“MY FAVORITE THINGS”Love Heart shaped foods roundup

February was such a romantic month!, with such beautiful

heart-shaped entries, each with a little love story of it’s own, I am simply floored…

I would like to thank each one of you for your efforts and participation and now for the roundup of this lovely event…………

AJ’S CRISPY ALU TIKKIS

SITAKIRAN’S HEALTHY CARROT JUICE

AQUADAZE’S

PECANBUTTER CAKE

ARCHY’S YUMMY CHOCOLATE

COOKIES ASHA’S AWESOME CARROT FENNEL WALNUT CAKE PREETI’S BULLS EYE CHAM’S PRETTY SAVORY PALMIERS MY CHOCOLATE DIPPED COOKIES

DIVYA’S CHOCOLATE CAKE ORIYA FOODS HEALTHY CARROT BIRYANI EASY CRAFTS PREETY KESARI SHEERA MADHU’S LOVELY MARSHMALLOWS WITH HOT CHOCOLATE MAHIMAA’S PISTACHIO KALAKAND NOTYET1OO’S BRUNCH OF EGG TOAST AND PEAS FRY POONAM’S DELICIOUS CHOCOLATE CARROT CAKE POORNIMA’S MANGO CHEESECAKE, YUM! PRIYA’S CRANBERRY CORNMEAL CAKE PRIYA’S SECOND ENTRY PINEAPPLE RICOTTA CHEESECAKE WOW! AND (CLAPPING) PRIYA’S THIRD ENTRY MICROWAVE BROWNIES! RAJEES LOVELY GAJAR HALWA RAMYA’S SWEET LITTLEPALMIERS

SHOBHA’S COLOURFUL SANDWICHES SOWMYA’S HEALTHY MINTY FRITTERS SUMTHI’S PRETTY SAFFRON WALNUT EGGLESS CAKE

SWAPNA’S AWESOME CINNAMON ROLLS TRUPTI’S EGGLESS FRENCH TOAST

MADHURAM’S WACKY VEGAN CHOCOLATE CAKE once again I would like to thank you all for your love and participation and would like to apologize for lack of editing in this roundup and that the pics are posted just as you all sent them, I am facing a lot of problems with my blog writer and with my internet connection and after typing this post out at least 6 times over past few days I am finally able to post it!, thus I think I would not be able to carry on with “My favorite things” event, due to all the above reasons, though it makes me sad… one thought though would any of you take the responsibility of hosting it monthwise???…I would be really happy,do drop me a line if you would like to..

March 2, 2009

HEALTHY SAVOURY INDIAN CRACKERS-BAKED NOT FRIED!

All of you appreciated the previous change of In love with food, but I was experiencing some technical difficulties so finally I decided to design the header myself , and I am so excited by the outcome!, hope you like it as much!!...

I am always on the lookout for some healthy substitutes and since my father in law is diabetic I try and cook stuff that can be enjoyed by him, this is precisely such an innovation, a simple yet delicious savory snack!

Ingredients-

All purpose flour- 1 cup
Millet flour(bajra atta)- 1/2 cup
Wholewheat flour-1/2 cup
Gram flour(besan)-1/2 cup
Fresh coriander- a handful chopped
Green chillies-2 chopped
Salt to taste
Black pepper-1/4 tsp
Ajwain-1/2 tsp
Turmeric-1/2 tsp
Ghee- 2 tbsp

Method-

Dry roast the millet, gramflour,and wheatflour together. Combine the rest of the ingredients and with the addition of cold water knead into a stiff dough, roll out into thin sheets, cut into rounds sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired and bake in a preheated oven at 200 C, enjoy with a cup of hot tea! Keeps for several month's in an airtight container!