When Chocolate Meets Yogurt

Hey, are you looking for some easy recipes that just take just 10 minutes to hit the plate?

Here we go to hit the first....

WHEN CHOCOLATE MEETS YOGURT:

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Serves: 2

Health Meter:
Yogurt, got this name from the Turkish word “yogurur”, which means “long life”. There has long been a belief that eating yogurt is associated with longevity, and many studies have been done.

 

Chocolate has properties that combat Heart disease-tanks to flavanoids from the cocoa plant. Repeated studies have shown that chocolate does not cause acne - or make it worse.

The phenyethylene and anandamide contained in chocolate have anti-depressant properties. Chocolate is mildly addictive, but a bar now and again is not going to hurt. With all those great antioxidants it contains, it may even help you live longer. After all, as the saying goes, "A little of what you fancy does you good".

It is widely believed that chocolate consumption releases a chemical into your body very similar to what is produced when you are in love.

All You Need:

1. Non flavored Yogurt/ Fresh curd: 2 cups

2. Chocolate Sauce from Hershey's

3. Sugar: 2-3 tbs

 

Method:

1. Take non-flavored yogurt/ fresh curd in a bowl.

2. Add sugar to it and stir well.

3. Now add 2 tbs of Chocolate Sauce to it and mix well.

4. Ornament with chocolate curls/ chocolate sauce.

Suggestions:

1. If you are using fresh curd, please strain out excess water to give a creamy texture. You could do that either with the help of a soft cloth or an easier option would be to tilt the bowl and let the excess water flow out. Make sure the curd doesn't run out; use a spoon to hold it back.

2. Use refrigerated curd/yogurt for better taste.

3. On a lazy Sunday afternoon, take a book you wanted to read for long, open a pack of cookies and dive in this Chocolaty Yogurt.... :) 

 

Sending this to:

My events: Cooking Made Easy With Chocolates/Cocoa, 

 Cakes, Cookies and Desserts and  Cooking Made Easy With Yogurt

Hot n Spicy Banana Chilli Spirals with Apple Chutney and Carrot Cucumber Raita(Yogurt)

Did you know eating an apple is a more reliable method of staying awake than consuming a cup of coffee? The natural sugar in an apple is more potent than the caffeine in coffee.

But why am I talking about apples here? You guessed it right; this recipe has something to do with Apples. ;)

I owe a heap of gratitude to Manjula Aunty who keeps raising wonderful cooking contests every month that give you the platform to experiment with never-tried combinations and blush out with new innovations. Also, you get to know such interesting facts about the ingredients you are pushing into your recipe. :)

This month, the challenge is to take up at least 2 of the following 5 food items and come up with an appetizer.

1. Carrot

2. Cucumber

3. Celery

4. Banana

5. Apple

As usual, I thought of several combinations, like Banana-oat patty, Carrot Mutthiya, Cold Apple Pickle, but none was making a perfect deal for a complete appetizer that could gratify the taste buds. Finally, a trio clicked me which would be tangy, healthy and at the same time, pleasing to the eyes. Also, it will cover four of the above five ingredients which makes me a little happy, though I would have loved to use all five of them. :)

Here goes the recipe.....

Hot n Spicy Banana Chilli Spirals with Apple Chutney and Carrot Cucumber Raita (Yogurt):

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Serves: 2

Health Meter: This goes perfect for people who are 'chilli bhajji/mirchi vada lovers'. Its hot n spicy flavor will tease your tongue and the refreshing cool yogurt will extinguish that fire. The complete dish has Vitamin C from green chillies; Iron from banana; Calcium and Potassium from apples; Carbs from gram flour, banana; Carotene, Vitamin A and K from carrots, apples; Minerals from cucumber; soothing tinge from curd/yogurt, and a smile :) that follows after you consume all this. :) Though I would also mention that it is a fried food, so to make it cholesterol free, please use cholesterol free vegetable oils, like Sunflower oil/Canola oil/Soyabean Oil.

For more information on nutrition facts, please go through  http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/

 

BANANA CHILLI SPIRALS:

Ingredients:

For Filling:

1. Raw Banana/Plantain: 1(Boiled, peeled and mashed)

2. Yellow Chilli/Bhajji : 4

3. Turmeric Powder: 1/2 tsp

4. Coriander Powder: 1 tsp

5. Cumin Powder: 1/2 tsp

6. Red Chilli Powder: 1/2 tsp 

7. Amchoor (Dry Mango) Powder - 1 tsp

8. Garam Masala: 1/2 tsp (optional)

9. Salt: 1 tsp or as per taste

10. Dried Mint Powder: 1/2 tsp (optional) 

11. Cumin seeds: 1/4 tsp

12. Oil - 3 tbs

Outer Spiral:

1. Maida (All Purpose Flour): 1/2 cup

2. Besan (Gram Flour): 1/2 cup

3. Ajwain: 1/2 tsp

4. Salt: 1/2 tsp or as per taste

5. Oil - 2 tbs (for moin) and rest for deep frying

5. Water (for making dough)

 

Step-by-Step Method:

1. We'll prepare the Spiral dough first. Take the maida, besan, salt, oil, ajwain seeds and mix well. Now slowly add water to it making a soft dough. Knead it well. Keep the consistency like that of chapati/poori dough. Keep it aside, covered with a soft cloth or vessel.
2. Now let's prepare the filling. Boil the raw banana/plantain in a pressure cooker for 10 minutes (just how you do for potatoes). Peel off the outer cover and mash it well.
3. Now take a pan and add 3 tbs oil to it. Heat it and add cumin seeds. Now add the banana pulp followed by all spices and salt. Cook it for 5 minutes with continuous stirring as the banana pulp will keep sticking to the bottom. Cook till the oil separates (it will hardly take 8-10 minutes). Your filling is ready.
4. Now take the yellow chillies/bhajji and wash them well. Wipe with a clean cloth. Now make a vertical incision in each chilli without cutting it into two pieces (You must be knowing how to dissect it without murdering it ;)) Take out all the seeds from the chilli. Now fill the banana filling gently in each dissected bhajji with the help of fingers and be careful that you don't break the chilli. Keep these filled chillies aside.
5. Now we'll prepare the outer spiral. Take a medium part of the dough, and make a ball with it. Now roll it into a roti which is 5mm thick. Cut vertical long stripes of 2 cm width each with the help of a knife.
6. Now take the filled chilli/bhajji and start wrapping it with the stripes in a spiral fashion. Start from the tail of the chilli, and keep rolling carefully till you reach the top where you seal it. Be sure there is no gap left from where the chilli could peep out. If one stripe is not long enough to cover the whole bhajji, use 3-4 stripes joined together with water droplets.
7. Now take oil in a pan/kadai and heat it. Now deep fry the filled spirals on low-medium heat till they turn golden brown. Do not fry on high flame as it would burn the outer layer without cooking the chilli within.
8. Take them out and serve these hot n spicy spirals with Apple Chutney and Carrot Cucumber Raita/Yogurt.

APPLE CHUTNEY:

Ingredients:

1. Apple: 1

2. Red Chilli Powder: 1/4 tsp

3. Black Pepper Powder: 1/4 tsp

4. Salt: 1/2 tsp or as per taste

5. Cumin Powder: 1/4 tsp

6. Sugar: 1tsp

7. Cumin seeds (jeera): 1/4 tsp

8. Chat Masala: 1/4 tsp

9. Oil: 1 tbs

Method:

1. Peel the apple and cut into small pieces.
2. Now take oil in a sauce-pan and heat it. Add cumin seeds (jeera) to it followed by the apple pieces. Now add all the masala and cook for 2 minutes. Add sugar, stir and cover the pan for 5 minutes. Now let it cool. After it has cooled down, grind this into chutney and serve with the spirals. 

CARROT CUCUMBER RAITA/YOGURT:

Ingredients: 

1. Carrot (grated): 1

2. Cucumber small (grated): 1/2

3. Yogurt/ fresh curd (beaten): 2 cups

4. Salt: 1/2 tsp or as per taste

5. Cumin Powder: 1/4 tsp

6.  A dash of Black Pepper Powder

7. A dash of Black Salt

8. A dash of Dried Ginger Powder

Method:

1. It's as simple as it sounds. Just beat the curd or take yogurt. 
2. Add all the above ingredients and mix well.
3. Refrigerate for 30 minutes and serve chilled with hot n spicy spirals.

Suggestions:

1. For staying healthy, use cholesterol free oils, like Canola/Sunflower/Soyabean for deep frying.
2. To lessen the calories, use low-fat yogurt or low-fat curd.
3. While preparing Raita/Yogurt, you could also use steamed/microwaved carrot for soft texture, though I prefer to use the peeled fresh ones.
4. An alternate for Apple Chutney could be Cold Apple Pickle where you can spice up peeled and grated apple with the spices without frying it. Then you can refrigerate this pickle for 2-4 hrs so that the spices get their nerves. 
5. In place of banana in spirals, you could also use any vegetable, like potatoes, cauliflower, cabbage, carrots.
6. Always cook your dishes with a good mood and happy heart as they are reflected in the taste/flavor your dish wears.
7. If some filling is extra, you could make 'banana samosas' with them. 

At last, let me share one more interesting fruit fact with you:

Bananas are actually an herb, not a fruit. It is in fact the world's largest herb, related to the orchid and lily families. The bananas are actually considered the berries of this giant herb.

Eggless Biscuit Cake

Who doesn't love cakes!!
This is what I answer when anyone asks if the reason behind not experimenting with cakes is my distaste for it. But the reason of course is something else.
I still remember my first experiment with 'cake' and gosh, how disastrous was it!! It was some 10 years ago and till a month back, I could hardly gather the courage to take it over again, but then a very simple recipe suggested by my bhabhi did wonders and to my surprise, I made a super-hit biscuit cake!

I'm sharing this extremely simple recipe with all of you and hope you'll give me a positive feedback after trying it yourself. It's a perfect 'paisa vasool' one!!

HIDE AND SEEK CAKE:

Preparation + Cooking Time: 20-25 minutes
Servings: Depends on how big cake freak you are! ;)

Health Meter: This is an eggless cake for all those vegetarians who love brownies and chocolate cakes but are aversive to eggs. Here comes the goodness of carbohydrates, protein and minerals packed in a low fat cake which is super-tasty and equally healthy. You could try this simple cake on your fussy little eater if he/she says 'No No' for everything. I'm sure she'll be tempted! :)

Ingredients:
1 packet Hide and Seek Biscuits (100gms), 1 packet Parle -G Biscuits (100gms), 1 teaspoon Eno fruit salt (non flavoured), a pinch of salt, 3 tablespoons sugar, milk, ghee(for greasing).

Method:
Take the biscuits and sugar and grind them well in a grinder/mixer. Now add a pinch of salt to it and mix well. Add little milk to form a smooth batter (like that of jalebi/idli). Add Eno to it and see it is mixed well. This cake mixture has to be immediately baked; do not keep it for sometime. Keep the mould/baking dish ready after greasing it with ghee and you could also dust some maida over it.
You could add cherries or nuts to this mixture for added taste.
This mixture can be baked in several ways:

1. Electric Oven: Pre-heat the oven on 150 degrees Centigrade for 5 minutes. Take a pre-greased aluminium/tin mould and fill it with this mixture. Remember, it should be filled less than half. Transfer this dish to the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes on 150-180 degrees Centigrade. Check if its cooked well by pricking it with a tooth-pick and see that the batter doesn't stick to it anymore. Also, you'll see that the margins of the cake have left the sides. If it is not cooked, keep it for some more time. Once made, take the dish out carefully, cool it and then transfer the cake into a plate. Decorate with chocolate syrup, chocolate curls, grated chocolate, grated coconut, fruit syrup, nuts or cherries.

2. Gas Oven(the one used for making 'baati'):
Pre-heat the oven on low flame for 5 minutes. Take a pre-greased aluminium/tin mould and fill it with this mixture. Remember, it should be filled less than half. Transfer this dish to the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes on low flame. Check if its cooked well by pricking it with a tooth-pick and see that the batter doesn't stick to it anymore. Also, you'll see that the margins of the cake have left the sides. If it is not cooked, keep it for some more time. Once made, take the dish out carefully, cool it and then transfer the cake into a plate. Decorate with chocolate syrup, chocolate curls, grated chocolate, grated coconut, fruit syrup, nuts or cherries.

3. Pressure Cooker (I found this one the easiest of all!):
Pre-heat the cooker on low flame for 5 minutes. Take a pre-greased aluminium/tin/steel mould and fill it with this mixture. Remember, it should be filled less than half. Transfer this dish to the cooker and close the lid without the whistle on it. Do not add water to it. Heat it on low flame for 20-25 minutes. Check if its cooked well by pricking it with a tooth-pick and see that the batter doesn't stick to it anymore. Also, you'll see that the margins of the cake have left the sides. If it is not cooked, keep it for some more time. Once made, take the dish out carefully, cool it and then transfer the cake into a plate. Decorate with chocolate syrup, chocolate curls, grated chocolate, grated coconut, fruit syrup, nuts or cherries.


You could also make other flavours by picking the biscuits of your choice. You could use cream biscuits, bourbon biscuits, chocolate cookies, coconut cookies or just any variety that you love. Remember not to reveal the ingredients or the recipe to the person who's eating; let him/her take the effort of guessing it right!! ;)

Biscuits could be fun to experiment with; I never knew this till this came!! :))

I'd like to send this recipe to Priya's Fast Food Not Fat Food Event.

Instant Tomato Idli Chaat

You must have heard of Aloo Chaat, Palak Patta Chat, Pani-Puri, Dahi Sev Puri, but have you ever tried any chaat item with Idli? My husband never appreciated Idli with Sambhar but I was in love with that, (talking about Idli here!) so I thought of playing with some spices on Idli to give it a version of chaat which is my husband's favorite, and what I finally came out with was a 20 minutes fast food that was super yummy and equally healthy.

INSTANT TOMATO IDLI CHAAT:

Preparation Time : 20 minutes
Serves: 2

All You Need:

For making Idlis: (Microwave)

- Idli Rawa/ Sooji : 1 cup
- Eno fruit salt : 1 tsp

- Salt : 1 tsp or as per taste

- Curd : 2 tbsp- Water (for mixing)

- Oil (for greasing the idli maker plates)

For Chaat:

- 2 finely chopped tomatoes
- 1 chopped green chilli
- Chopped coriander leaves
- Rye(mustard seeds)
- Jeera (Cumin seeds)
- Red chilli powder
- Turmeric powder
- Salt
- Oil

Get set go:
For preparing instant idlis, take sooji, curd, salt in a bowl. Soak this mixture in water for 5 minutes. On the other side, grease the idli maker with oil. I generally make idlis in a microwave and it takes only 3-4 minutes for them to get cooked. You could also make idlis in a traditional idli-cooker or a usual cooker. Now take the idli mixture and add Eno to it. Mix it well till it foams and immediately transfer this to the idli maker and microwave for 4 minutes. Check them with a toothpick; if it comes out clean, they are done. Take the idlis out and cut each idli into 4 pieces.
Till the idlis are getting cooked, chop the tomatoes, chilli and coriander leaves. Now take a pan, add 2 tablespoons oil to it, heat it and add jeera followed by rye. When the rye starts to splutter, add tomatoes and green chilli. Cook for a minute and then add all the masala and cook till the oil separates. At last add the idli pieces and mix well. Cover the pan for 3 minutes and serve hot garnished with coriander leaves.

You could also add chopped onions, and sev/namkeen to give the authentic chaat look and taste.

Health Meter: This is a perfect snack time appetizer with the goodness of lycopene and minerals from tomatoes, carbs from sooji, vitamin C from chilli and very less fat. Eat healthy, stay healthy!! :)

I'd like to send this recipe to Priya's Fast Food Not Fat Food Event.

Corn Samosa

There's a new experiment knocking on my head... 'Corn Samosas'...give it a try.

CORN SAMOSA:

Ingredients:
Corn, oil, mustard seeds(rai), cumin seeds(rai), asafoetida(heeng), chopped green chilies, turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, red chili powder, salt, chopped coriander/mint leaves, curd, maida, corn flour, ajwain, water.

Method:
For preparing the masala/filling: Grate the corn and keep the paste aside. Take little oil in a pan, heat it and add cumin seeds, mustard seeds, asafoetida and chopped green chilies. Now add the corn paste to it and fry well. Add all the spices, salt and cook for 3-5 minutes till the corn gets properly cooked. Now add little curd to it and cook for 2 minutes. Add chopped coriander/mint leaves to it.
Now take maida, add a little corn flour, salt, ajwain, 2 tablespoons oil for moin and prepare soft dough with water. Take some dough and make a circle with that(like a small roti). Cut this circle into two halves. In each half, fill the 'corn masala/filling' and close it in a triangular fashion, giving the shape of 'samosa'. You can use water on your fingertips to join the edges. Now deep fry these samosas on a low-medium flame. Serve hot with green chutney/imli chutney or raita(yogurt).

Enjoy! :)

Mava Kesar Badam Kulfi

MAVA KESAR BADAM KULFI: (Microwave)

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients: Full cream milk powder, full/fresh cream, cardamom powder, saffron strands, sugar, milk, almond powder, almonds, cashews, pistachio.

Method:

1. Take 1 cup milk powder, 1/3 cup full/fresh cream, cardamom powder and 2 tablespoons sugar and microwave for 3-4 minutes. Mava/khoya will be ready. 
2. On the other side, put 1/2 litre milk on boiling. Add saffron strands, cardamom powder, almond powder, crushed dry fruits, sugar(3 tablespoons or as per taste) and boil. 
3. Simmer for 10 minutes with continuous stirring. Cool it and add the prepared khoya after crushing. 
4. Mix this well and transfer this mixture into 'Kulfi -maker' and refrigerate overnight. 
5. Serve chilled in the morning. 
6. If you don't have a 'Kulfi- maker', you could use a closed container for freezing and then cut the prepared kulfi in small square pieces and lift them with 2 toothpicks on each piece. Your toothpick-kulfi is ready. ;)

If you have khoya/mava available on stores, you can make the kulfi directly with that without using milk powder. Also, you can make it from reduced milk (1/4) after boiling and simmering, which will give the authentic  taste of rabdi/khoya.

Sending this to:

My event: Cakes, Cookies and Desserts 

Jalebi

 

























Round round jalebis are here for you...hot, sugary and yummy....take a dip in the syrup and relish the taste. :)
 

JALEBI:

Ingredients:

- Maida: 1 cup
- Urad Dal (powdered) : 1/4 cup (optional)
- Curd: 4 tbs
- Lukewarm water
- Ghee/ oil: 1 tbs ( for moin)
- Ghee/ oil: for deep frying

For Sugar Syrup:
- Sugar: 1 cup
- Water: 1 cup 
- Cardamom powder 
- Saffron strands

Method:

1. Take maida, urad dal powder, 1 tbs ghee/oil, curd and water to make a smooth batter without any lumps (like idli batter). Ferment it for 4-6 hours. 
2. Now take little ghee/oil in a flat-bottomed non stick pan. Heat it and then switch to low flame.
3. Now take the fermented batter in a jalebi maker(like a plastic squeezable sauce bottle) or in a cotton cloth with a hole in it. 
4. Close the lid and prepare round jalebis starting from the centre and making 3 circles and joining the end to the centre to avoid splitting. 
5. If the jalebis are not taking their shape, then turn the flame to low or put off the gas and form the jalebi. Immediately put on the flame and fry then. 
6. On the other hand, for making the syrup, take 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water. Boil for 5-7 minutes. Add cardamom powder and keep the syrup warm and ready. 
7. Now transfer the fried jalebis directly into the warm syrup and sieve out after 20-30 seconds so that they absorb the syrup adequately.

Serve hot jalebis with chilled kulfi!! :)

  

Submitting this recipe to:

My event: Cakes, Cookies and Desserts

Diwali Special Sweets by Tickling Palates,
Serve it - Festival Potluck by Krithi's Kitchen, 
Diwali Sweet Recipes by Sameena
Diwali Event  by Anu's Kitchen