Spinach Pulao

Ingredients:

• Spinach [palak] - 2 bundles washed and chopped
• Potatoes - 2 big [peeled and cubed small]
• Carrot - 2 [scraped and cubed]
• Tomatoes - 2 small [cut into thin strips pulp removed]
• Basmati rice - 1 cup [soaked for 40 -50 minutes]
• Water - 2 cups [for cooking]  
• Ghee - 5 to 6 tbsp
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Black pepper - 1tbsp
• Salt - as required
• Cashew nuts - little [fry in little ghee and keep aside]

Method:

Take one pressure pan and heat ghee for 2 minutes. Add cumin seeds, chopped spinach, potatoes, carrot and stir them in high flame for 5 minutes. Then add rice, black pepper, salt and water. Then close the pressure pan and wait for 2 whistles to come. Then remove from the gas. After the pressure comes out, open the lid and garnish with fried cashew nuts. When done, serve hot with tomato strips / waffers.                        

Vegetable Medley

Ingredients :

• French beans - 1/2 cup [cut into small pieces]
• Carrots - 1/2 cup [cut into small pieces]
• Cauliflower florets - 1 cup
• Peas - 1/4 cup shelled
• Potatoes -2 [peeled and cubed]
• Capsicum - 1 [chopped]
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Salt - as required
• Red chillie powder - 1 1/2 tsp
• Dhaniya powder - 1 tsp
• Amchur powder - 1/4 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
• Oil - 2 tbl sps.
• Sugar - 1/2 tsp
• Fresh cream - 1/4 cup
• Fresh coriander leaves - little

Method :

Heat oil in a kadai and add cumin seeds. When it pop ups, add all the (cut) vegetables. Add salt, turmeric, red chillie powder, dhaniya powder, amchur powder and little sugar. Add 1/4th cup of water. Cover and cook on high flame for 15 minutes till all the vegetables are well cooked. Before removing from the gas, add the fresh cream and mix well. Remove from the gas and garnish with fresh coriander leaves. Serve with hot roti or parathas.

Chocolate almond cake

Ingredients:

• Sift together :
• Maida - 250 gms.
• Cocoa - 3 tbl. sps. [ level ]
• Baking powder - 2 tsps. [ level ]
• Cooking soda - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - a pinch

Blend together:

• Condensed milk - 1 tin
• Melted butter - 100 gms.
• Luke warm water - 1 glass
• Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

Other ingredients :

• Almonds - 1/2 cup [ sliced and chopped ]

Method :

Sift the mentioned ingredients together twice. Blend mentioned ingredients together in a bowl. [ other wise you can use mixie also ] Then add sifted ingredients and mix well in clock wise direction. Mix half the sliced almonds to the batter. Then transfer to a greased baking dish. Arrange rest of the almonds on top. Bake in a pre- heated moderate oven approximately for 45 minutes in 170˚C / 375˚F


Note :

While arranging nuts on top before baking, dip the nuts in milk and then arrange, so that it doesn't sink into the cake after baking.

Chocolate Flavoured Rice Pudding

Ingredients :

• Un cooked rice - 1 / 2 cup
• Milk - 4 to 5 cups
• Cocoa powder - 4 tsps
• Butter - 1 tsp
• Sugar - 6 tsps
• Salt - 1 / 4 tsp
• Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
• Cream [ whipped ] - to serve

Method :

Boil the milk well. Then add all the other things and simmer the gas on a low flame for about 2 hours, till the rice gets cooked nicely and the pudding become thick. Remove from the gas and serve with whipped cream. Enjoy your hot pudding or keep it in fridge and have chilled pudding.

Stylish Pudding

Ingredients :

• Nankhatai biscuits [crumbled] - 200 gms.
• Custard powder - 3 tsp [mixed with little milk]
• [I used strawberry flavour]
• Milk - 4 cups
• Sugar or sugar free - 3 tsp
• Mixed fruit of choice -3 tsp -1 cup
• [I used banana, apple and strawberry]
• Walnuts [ shelled & chopped ] - 1 / 4 cup
• Fresh cream [ whipped with 2 tbsp castor sugar ] - 1 / 2 cup
• Essence - 2 drops [ As per your wish ]

Method :

Fist prepare the custard by boiling the milk with sugar. Then mix custard mixture & cook over low flame, stirring continuously, till the mixture is thick and smooth. Then add essence and mix well. Take one bowl, arrange half  the biscuit crumbs in a bowl. Add a layer of half the fruits and nuts. Then pour half the custard over and repeat another set of layers similarly. Decorate with whipped cream and serve at once.

Strawberry, apple lassi

Ingredients :

• Apple - 1
• Strawberries -10
• Sugar - 2 tbl. sps.
• Fresh thick curds - 5oo ml.
• Fresh cream - 1tbl.sp.
• Salt - 2 pinches
• Water - 200 ml.

Method :

Cook strawberries in little water to which sugar is added. Then keep in reduced flame until it gets a shine and sugar is dissolved completely.  [ can be microwaved for 2 to 3 minutes in medium - high ] then remove from fire and allow to cool. Push apple through the juicer and collect the juice. Then put strawberries along with the syrup in a mixie. If necessary add little water and blend gently. Strain through a mesh strainer to remove fine seeds of strawberries. Then pour it back in the mixer along with apple juice and curds. Blend until everything gets mixed properly. Add fresh cream, salt, ice cubes and if necessary some more water. Blend until frothy and pour in a tall glass and serve immediately. Your yummy fruit lasssi is ready.

Malpua

Ingredients :

• Milk - 1 litre
• Maida - 1 / 2 cup
• Sugar - 3 / 4 cup
• Water - 2 / 3 cup
• Ghee - for deep frying
• Cashewnuts & almonds - 2 tblsp

[ finely chopped ]

Method :

Boil milk in heavy vessel till it is reduced to half of it's volume. Remove from fire and allow to cool down to room temperature. Mix maida with this without forming lumps and prepare thick batter of pouring consistency. Then heat ghee in a small kadai up to 1 inch depth. Take a small ladle full of dough and pour in the hot ghee to form a small pan cake. Turn over and cook for a while and remove from the fire. Then heat water and sugar together to form a thick and sticky syrup. [ like jamun syrup ]. When malpuas  are  deep fried, dip it in warm sugar syrup and arrange on a flat plate side by side. Prepare all the malpuas like this till the batter is over. Finely sprinkle fried  nuts on top.