Quinoa Salad (with veggies)

 Pronounced “keen-wah,” this protein-packed grain contains every amino acid, and is particularly rich in lysine, which promotes healthy tissue growth throughout the body. Quinoa is also a good source of iron, magnesium, vitamin E, potassium, and fiber. It looks a bit like couscous and is as versatile as rice, but quinoa has a richer, nuttier flavor than either of them.

Preparation Time: 20-30 Mins

Ingredients Needed:

1. 1 cup Quinoa (Raw)
2. 2 Cups of water
3. 1/4 Tspn Salt
4. 1/4 Chopped Carrot
5. 1/4 cup Chopped Onions
6. 1/4 cup Boiled Peas OR Green Beans OR Green Pepper(Capsicum) "You can add any veggies of your choice"
7. 1/4 Cup Boiled Corn
8. 1/4 Tspn Black Pepper
9. 1 Tspn Olive Oil
10. 1/4 Cup finely chopped Coriander/Cilantro
11. 1 Tspn Lemon Juice 

Procedure:

Add about 2 cups of water in the vessel, put it over a gas top and let it boil. Once the water starts boiling add Salt into the water and add the Quinoa into the boiling water. Exactly after 2 minutes, turn off the gas flame. Cover the Vessel with a lid and leave it as is for 15 minutes in the hot water. In the meanwhile till the Quinoa gets ready, get the veggies ready. Finely chop Onions, Green beans, Green, Cilantro. In a separate vessel put 1 Tspn of olive oil (or any vegetable oil), and saute' the Onions, Peas, Corns, Beans for 2-3 minutes on a medium flame. You can add your choice of sauce if you would like also add salt according to your taste. After 15 minutes check the quinoa, if it is fully cooked (check by squishing a grain with your fingers), drain the water(if any) from it and wait for it to get cooled off. Once it cools off, add the Quinoa into the pan you have your veggies ready. Mix them together softly. By doing this the Quinoa won't become sticky.

 At last add the Lemon Juice (if you like) and again toss the salad well.

Garnishing:

Add the chopped Cilantro to make it look pretty and yummier.

Thanks for reading, Stay tuned for more recipes.

Have a Yummy Day :)

Neha

Orange Mayo Macaroni Salad

Orange Mayo Macaroni Salad

This Salad Can be served at anytime of the day. It is served cold. The main ingredient of this salad is Orange.

Preparation Time: 20-30 Mins

Ingredients Needed:

1. 1 cup Macaroni
2. 1/2 Cup Mayonnaise
3. 2 Tbspn Tomato Ketchup
4. 1/2 Cup Chopped Carrot
5. 1/2 cup Chopped Onions
6. 1/2 cup Chopped Cabbage
7. 1.5 Cup peeled oranges (cut 1 slice of orange into 3,4 pieces)
8. 1/2 Cup Orange Juice
9. 1/4 Tspn Salt
10. 1/4 Tspn Black Pepper
11. 1 Tspn Olive Oil
12. 1/4 Cup finely chopped Coriander/Cilantro
13. 1 Tspn Lemon Juice 

Procedure:

Add about 2.5 cups of water in the vessel, put it over a gas top and let it boil. Once the water starts boiling add 1 Tspn of Salt into the water and also add the Macaroni into the boiling water. Let the Macaroni cook for 5-10 minutes in the hot water until it is completely cooked. In the meanwhile till the Macaroni gets ready,  get the veggies and fruits ready for the salad. Finely chop Carrots, Onions, Cilantro, Orange, Cabbage and Orange Juice.When the Macaroni is fully cooked, drain the water from it and wait for it to get cooled off. Now add 1 Tspn of Olive Oil into the Macaroni and mix it well with your fingers softly. By doing this the Macaroni won't become sticky when it is cold.

In a separate small bowl put the mayonnaise and add the Tomato Ketchup, now mix it well. Add this sauce into the chopped veggies and toss it well. Now add the Macaroni and mix it well. At last add the Lemon Juice and again toss the salad well.

Garnishing:

Add Few pieces of Orange peel (called Rind) and place them as shown in the picture above or in any way you like. 

Thanks for reading, Stay tuned for more recipes.

Have a Yummy Day :)

Neha

Pav Bhaji

                                                                     Pav Bhaji

Pav bhaji is a very favorite fast food dish in India originated in Marathi cuisine. Pav is buns and bhaji is the mixed spicy vegetables.

Preparation Time: 1 Hour                                

Ingredients Needed: 

For Bhaji & Buns(Pav):

1) 2-3 medium size potatoes, peeled and diced.
2)1/2 cup peas
3) 1/2 cup chopped carrots
4) 1/2 cup chopped cauliflower
5) 1/2 cup green beans
6) 3 Tbsp oil
7) 3 Tbsp butter
8) 2 green chilies chopped
9) 3 medium chopped tomatoes
10) 1/2 Tspn red chili
11) 2 Tspn salt (according to taste)
12) 1 Tspn garam masala
13) Pav Bhaji Masala (can get it from any indian store, I prefer the "shaan or MDH" brand.)
14)1 Tbsp lemon juice (If you are not sure about a lil bitter taste in the bhaji, you can add it later on     before eating in your serve.)

Garnishing: 
1)  Lemon Juice- 1 Tspn
2) 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
3)  1 cup dinely chopped onions
4)  2-3 finely chopped green chilies

Serves:- 3-4 people.

Procedure:

Bhaji:  

Boil all the veggies ( peas, carrots, cauliflower, green beans ) in 1 cup of water with the potatoes. Also put half Tspn of salt and 1 Tbspn in the veggies before boiling (Salt helps the veggies to cook fast). After the veggies are tender turn off the heat from the veggies. Heat the oil in a different pan on a medium heat. Add tomatoes, green chilies, cilantro, and ginger and sauté for 2-3 minutes until pasty. Next add the red chili powder,Pav Bhaji Masala, mix it well. Add salt to it and further add the boiled veggies into it. Mix it well and cover it for another half an hour. Keep checking the bhaji doesn't stick to the pan surface. After half an hour turn off the heat. Add garam masala, and lemon juice, mix it well. The bhaji is now ready.

Buns:

Toast the halves bun over a skillet using butter over medium heat until buns are golden brown from both sides.

Garnishing:

Serve toasted buns with bhaji , garnish with chopped onions and sliced lemon.

Tip: You can add as many veggies you like in the bhaji, e.g- green bell peppers, egg plant.

Thanks for reading, Stay tuned for more recipes.

Have a Yummy Day :)

Neha

Strawberry & Mango Smoothie

                                                        Strawberry & Mango Smoothie

A Smoothie is a blended and sometimes sweetened beverage made from fresh Fruits and in addition to fruit, many smoothies include crushed Ice, frozen fruit, Sugar, Honey, Agave Nectar etc. They have a Milkshake- like consistency that is thicker than Slush drinks.And is the most healthy and easy way to consume fruits and stay Healthy.

In the Summer time, we always get cravings for some cold and refreshing drinks. I find Smoothies the best option to drink during the Summer time. They are very easy to make. You just need to be sure about the combination of fruits you use. :)

Preparation Time: 5-10 Mins.

                                 

Ingredients Needed: 

Dough:

1) 10-12 pieces of Strawberries
2) 3 Manila Mangoes (Coz these mangoes don't have threads in them)
3) Ice Cubes - 4-5
4) Cane Sugar/Honey/Agave Nectar -1 Tbsp (If you want it to be very sweet)     

Garnishing:

1) A Strawberry and a slice of Lemon
2) Mint Leaves - 3

Serves:-  2 Glasses

Procedure:

In a blender, combine the strawberries, mango,and ice. On high speed, blend until the mixture is almost smooth with a consistency somewhere between a slush and a sorbet. Pour it into a long glass.Stir in the Honey.

Garnishing:

Garnish it with a Strawberry, a Lemon slice and few Mint leaves as shown in the image above.

And now your tempting and refreshing smoothie is ready to serve.

Tip: You can also use overnight frozen Strawberries and mangoes. 

         If you are an Orange lover, you can mix 1/4 cup of orange juice before             blending.

 

Thanks for reading, Stay tuned for more recipes.

Have a Yummy Day :)

Neha

Gujiya

Gujiya

Gujiya, a Rajasthani cuisine, is a sweet dumpling made with suji or Maida Flour/wheat flour and stuffed with khoya. The gujia is filled with a mixture of grated and roasted dry fruits, khoya, coconuts.It is generally made in the festival times, such as Holi (festival of colors), Diwali (festival of lights), Raksha Bandhan (bond of protection between brother and sister).This recipe is very easy and believe me after all the hard work you'll do to make gujiya is gonna turn out to be awesome. :

Preparation Time: 1 Hour

                   Dough: 20-25 mins

                  Getting the Filling Ready-30 mins               

Ingredients Needed: 

Dough:

1) All Purpose Flour (Maida) -1 Cup
2) Suji - 1Tbsp
3) Warm Water-1/3 Cup
4) Olive oil - 2 Tbsp
5) Towel Soaked in Cold Water

Filling: 
1)  Melon/Sesame seeds - 1Tbsp
2) Cardamom Powder - 1/4 Tbsp
3)  Whipping Cream - 1/2 Cup
4)  Dry Milk Powder - 1 Cup
5)  Sliced Almonds - 1/3 Cup
6)  Coconut Powder - 1/3 Cup
7)  Sugar - 1/3 Cup
8) Raisins - 1/3 Cup

 Glazing and Garnishing:

1) Sugar - 2  Cups

2) Water - 2 Cups

3) Sliced Almonds & Pistachio - 1/3 Cup

Binder:

1) Water - 1Tbsp
2) All Purpose Flour (Maida) - 1 Tbsp
To make the Binder mix the above 2 ingredients nicely so that it come out like a fine paste. We use this Binder to bind the edges of Gujiya.

Frying:

Fry Pan (Kadhai)
Cooking Oil: 3-4 Cups

Serves:- 20-25 pieces of Gujiya

Procedure:

Dough:  

Put the all purpose flour in a bowl and add suji and oil to it, mix it well. Now add the water and make it into a fine dough. Cover it with a damp cloth and leave it for about 15-20 mins. Until the dough gets ready, in the mean time lets prepare the filling.

Fillings:  

Take a pan, put it on the gas stove burner on medium heat, now add the whipped cream and the dry milk into the pan. Keep mixing it well so that the batter doesn't stick to the pan. Mix it for around 5-10 mins. You will see that the batter will start leaving the sides of the pan and will leave some oil out of it. This means that the khoya is ready. It should be a soft and running batter. Now switch off the gas stove and add almonds. melon/sesame seeds, cardamom powder and coconut powder to this batter. Mix it well and keep it aside and let it cool. Once it starts getting cold now it is time to add the sugar and mix it well. When it will become cold the batter will become dry.

Now check the dough and divide the dough into 20-25 equal pieces and form small balls out of it. Now roll the balls on the rolling board and try to form a circular flat shaped dough (of about 3.5 inches of diameter). Try to roll 5,6 balls at a time, and start filling them (if you'll roll up all of them at the same time it will dry up).

Now take the flat shaped dough on your hand and apply the binder on the edges of the flat dough, just apply the binder only on edges of the half part of the flat shaped dough. Put around 1 Tbsp of fillings in the half portion of the flat shaped dough (don't put a lot of filling, as it can open up the gujiyas while frying). Once you had put the filling over the flat shaped dough, turn the dough into a semicircle over the filling and towards the end where we had applied the binder. Now press the edges and pinch it hard with your fingers and thumb so that it doesn't open up while frying. Repeat this for other dough balls too.

Frying:

Now heat the oil in the Pan on medium heat for around 10 mins. Now once the oil gets heated start putting the gujiyas in the oil for frying. (Gujiyas are always fried in medium heat oil, if the oil is too hot gujiyas will start getting brown very quickly and will be left half cooked). Turn the gujiyas whenever needed while frying until it gets golden brown. Since we are frying them on medium low heat at might take around 10-15 mins to get the golden brown color. Once they are golden brown take them out from the oil, keep it aside and let them cool. You can fry as many gujiyas at a time depending upon the size of your fry pan.

 Glazing and Garnishing:

Take a pan, put it on the gas burner (on medium high heat) and put water and sugar in it to prepare the sugar syrup in which we are going to dip the fried (& cooled) gujiyas. Once the syrup starts boiling switch off the gas burner and let the syrup cool off a little bit, may be about a minute or two. Now dip the gujiyas in the syrup, let it stay in the syrup for about 30 seconds.(Make sure that the syrup gets coated over the complete piece of gujiya). Take the gujiyas out of the syrup and place them over a rack, so that extra syrup drains off from the gujiya. While they are still moist start garnishing it with the Sliced Almonds & Pistachio so that they stick over the gujiya properly. Now let the gujiyas cool off for about 30 mins.

And now your tempting and delicious Gujiyas are ready to serve.

Tip: If you are a pineapple lover you can also add small chunks of pineapple (1/3 Cup) in the filling batter.    

Thanks for reading, Stay tuned for more recipes.

Have a Yummy Day :)

Neha

Peanut & cashew Poha/Chivda

Poha/Chivda

Poha is rice which is flattened into flat light dry flakes. The lightly fried variety is a standard breakfast in Malvaa region of Madhya Pradesh in India. It is really quick and very easy. You can have it as breakfast or as an evening snack.

Preparation Time: 15-20 mins.               

Ingredients Needed:

1)   Poha (I prefer thin poha): 3 Cups (You can get Poha from any indian store, I generally use Bansi Brand)
2)   Cooking Oil: 1/4 Cup
3)   Kadi Patta -10-12 Leaves
4)   Rai (Mustard Seeds) : 2 Tbsp
5)   Sliced Onions - 1 1/2 Cup
6)   Boiled Potatoes (Put Only If you like potatoes) : 2 Medium Size, Cut them into small cubes.
7)   Raw Peanuts : 1/2 Cup
8)   Raw Cashews : 1/4 Cup
9)   Fresh Coriander/Cilantro - 1/2 Cup
10) Bhujia - (Bhujia is a famous crisp snack and is prepared by using besan (gram flour) and spices. You can get it from any Indian Store)
11) Lemon juice- 1 Cup 
12) Turmeric Powder: 1 Tsp
13) Salt: 2 Tsp
14) Sugar: 1 Tbsp
15) Red Chilli/Pepper Powder: 1/2 Tsp (Add only If you want it to be spicy)

Serves:- 2-3 Servings

Procedure:

Take the Poha and dip it in cold water for 5 mins. Now put it into a strainer and set it aside so that the water gets drained from the Poha.

Put the oil into the pan, let it heat for few seconds and add Rai and Kadi Patta in the oil. After the mustard seeds stop popping add Peanuts and Cashews and let them cook in the oil for few seconds. Once they turn into light brown color add Onions into the pan. Let the onions get a little brown, now further add the boiled potato cubes in the pan. Let it cook in the pan for few minutes until they get a little crispy. Add turmeric powder, salt, red pepper (If you want to add a spicy taste to the Poha) and sugar in the pan and mix it well for 5 seconds.

Now add the Poha into the pan and toss it slowly so that it doesn't get mashed up and each grain remains separate. Once it is properly mixed with all the veggie(onions and potato mix in the pan) mixture cover it and let it cook for about 2-3 mins and at last add finely chopped fresh coriander/cilantro to it.

Your delicious Poha is ready.Now serve it in the platter and garnish it with the Bhujia (as shown in the picture).

Tip: In Madhya Pradesh (India) Poha is also served with hot Jalebi (a sweet dish). It make a very great combination if sweet and salty taste.

Stay Tuned For The Jalebi Recipe , will be uploading it soon.

 

Thanks for reading,

Have a Yummy Day :)

Neha

Home Made Pizza Made Of Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

Home Made Pizza Made Of Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

After its invention in Greece and via Neapolitan Cuisine, the dish has become popular in many parts of the world. Do you know that The Ancient Greeks covered their bread with oils, herbs and cheese. Here is a very simple and healthy home made pizza recipe, including home made whole wheat pizza dough and toppings.


Preparation Time: 40-45 mins

                   Dough: 20-25 mins

                  Getting the topping ready and Baking the Pizza-30 mins

               

Ingredients Needed: 

Dough:

1) Whole Wheat Flour -2 Cups
2) 1 Pack Of Dry Yeast
3) Sugar - 2 Tsp
4) Warm Water-3/4 Cup
5) Salt - 1 1/2 Tsp
6) Olive oil - 3 Tbsp
7) A Towel - Soaked in cold water

Toppings: 
1)  Broccoli
2)  Bell Peppers (Green/Red) 
3)  Onions 
4)  Mushrooms
5)  Spinach
6)  Pineapple
7)  Pizza topping Sauce
8)  Low Fat Mozzarella cheese (quantity-according to taste)
9)  Goat Cheese (quantity-according to taste)
10) Hummus (quantity-according to taste)

Serves:- 2 Family size Pizza or 3 Medium Size Pizza

Procedure:

Dough:  

First Mix water, sugar and yeast together in a bowl and keep it a side for sometime till it starts to foam. Mix the flour and salt together and add water (the one in which we had mixed the yeast and sugar earlier) and make it in a smooth dough. Add the olive oil in between while making the dough. Now when the dough is done, keep it in a bowl and cover the bowl with a towel. Set it aside and let it rise for 15 mins. 

Toppings:  

Cut the Veggies in your own desired shape/size.

Preparing and Baking the Pizza:

Preheat the Oven for 15 mins at 450 degrees.

Once the dough is ready take 1/3rd part of the dough and make a ball out of it. Sprinkle some flour over the rolling surface and place the dough ball over it and roll out the pizza dough over the rolling surface with the rolling pin. Try to make out a round shape out of it and spray some olive oil over the surface of the pizza stone (or you can also use pizza tray or a flat baking tray). Now place the pizza base over the pizza stone. On the base apply a thin layer of fine hummus, then put one layer of the pizza sauce, and now put the mozzarella cheese. Further put the veggies of your choice over the pizza and sprinkle the goat cheese over the veggies. If you like to put spinach put it over the layer of pizza sauce (before sprinkling the mozzarella ) Now put the pizza in the oven and bring the temp. of the oven to 350 degrees. Let the pizza bake for 15 mins.

Take the pizza out and carefully cut it into slices. And now your delicious Pizza is ready to serve.

If you like you can also sprinkle crushed red peppers and crushed oregano leaves over the pizza before eating.

Tip:If you like the taste of fire roasted veggies, Before taking out the pizza put it on high Broil for 2 mins. This will give a real crispy taste to your veggies   

    

Thanks for reading, Stay tuned for more recipes.

Have a Yummy Day :)

Neha