Happy New Year

KHAUGIRI

Chocolate and Walnut Brownie

Last Christmas I made Sizzling brownie. The recipe of brownie was very easy and eggless. I wanted to try walnut brownie recipe and I selected my friend Purva's method. She had prepared the brownie for her husband's birthday. I think his birthday is somewhere in December…. So wish a very happy birthday from all of us. Wow it turned out very well. Purva, Thanks a lot dear for sharing this with us:)

Ingredients

1 Cup Maida (Plain Flour / Self Raising Flour)

3/4 Cup Butter

3/4 Cup Cocoa Powder

1 Tablespoons of Coffee

1 Tablespoon Hot Water

1/2 Cup Sugar

2 Large Eggs

2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract

1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder

1/4 Teaspoon Salt

1/4 Cup Chopped Walnuts (Basically it is 3/4 cup Chopped Walnuts and almond)

1/4 Cup Chocolate Chips

Procedure

Combine Butter and Coco powder in a bowl and placed the bowl in a Microwave only for 1 Minute. Once the butter is melted remove it from the microwave and mix the butter with Cocoa well and see to it there are no lumps. It should be a smooth batter. In a bowl break the eggs and add sugar to it. Use a hand blender and whisk the eggs and sugar together with the blender. Whisk the eggs till the mixture becomes double in size. Combine coffee and hot water and added to the butter and cocoa mixture. Now combine the Egg and sugar mixture with the butter and Cocoa mixture. Add Vanilla extract and mix both the mixture properly. Keep this mixture aside. Now in a big deep bowl, sieve Maida, baking powder and salt together. Now add the dark chocolate combined mixture in the flour. Fold the flour with chocolate mixture and while folding the mixture add chopped walnuts and chocolate chips in between. Remember to fold the mixture in one direction. Preheat the oven to 180 C. Grease the Square baking tray or place a grease proof paper or Butter paper. Pour the batter in the tray. Bake the mixture for about 25 - 30 Minutes or when you pierce the tip of the knife and it comes out clean or there are cracks on the top of the mixture. Serve brownie with vanilla ice cream… a perfect dessert for Christmas eve.

This goes to Sara's Cakes n Cookies Event.

Pithala Bhakri

Pithla Bhakri is called as Farmer's meal in Maharashtra. But because of it's awesome test it got popular among all Maharashtrian people. Pithla is made up of Besan - chickpea flour . It's damn easy to make. If you have no veggies in your fridge this is the perfect option. Pithla tastes good with plane rice also. After a hectic day we just prepare Pithla bhat (Rice) for dinner. If you are eating Pithla with rice then the consistency of pithla should be semi fluid. If with bhakri then either semi fluid or complete dry, it is also called as zunka or korda (dry) Pithla. Farmers used to carry this Zunka Bhakri to the farm for a lunch. There are so many methods of making Pithla that I will post later on, but my friend Ritika asked me again for this recipe so Ritika, this is specially for you……..

For Pithla

Ingredients

Besan - 1/2 cup

Water - 2-3 cups

Green chilies - 3-4

Garlic cloves -3-4

Ginger - 1 inch

Cumin seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Chopped Onion - 1

Oil- 1 tablespoon

Mustard seeds - 1/4 teaspoons

Asafetida - 1/4 teaspoon

Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Salt to taste.

Procedure

First thing is to coarsely grind chilies, garlic, ginger and cumin seeds and make a chutney of it. Heat oil in a kadai and make tempering of mustard seeds, turmeric powder, asafetida. Now add chopped onion and saute it till it becomes slightly brown. Now add ground chutney and saute it. Flame should be on sim to avoid burnt aroma to Pithla. Add 2-3 cups of water and salt. When water starts boiling add besan slowly with one hand and continuously stir it in kadai with other hand. I like little lumps in Pithla so I keep some lumps in between. Boil it for 2-3 minutes. According to your choice of consistency adjust the proportion of water and besan. Some people likes extra hot tadka (tempering) on it while eating and some likes to take just a oil on it. Serve very very hot with rice or bhakri lasni chutney and onion .

For Bhakri

Ingredient

Jowar flour (Sorghum Flour) - 1 cup

Warm water

Salt - 1 tsp

Procedure

Take Jowar flour in a vessel and make a well in the middle. Add salt and warm water.

Knead nicely to make a soft dough. Make round balls out of this dough. On a flat surface, sprinkle little flour. Pat the ball with your palm ( you can roll it like roti also). Use flour as required. Keep flattening the ball in circular motion to make round shape like roti. Heat a griddle (tawa) . Lower the flame. Now place Bhakri on griddle in such a way that the lower portion of bhakri should be on griddle. Now spread little of water on upper side of bhakri. When water on bhakri dries completely turn it to cook from other side. Now remove from griddle and keep it on the direct flame. It will get puffed. It will need practice for puffed bhakri.

So Pithla Bhakri is ready. This is a favorite dish of Gajanan Maharaj from Shegaon.

Note: There are varieties of Pithla like, Takatla pithla, Tikhtacha pithla, Tomato pithla, Ravan Pithla……. I will post all this afterwards as I prepare this at home and get a chance to click it.

Policha Ladoo

Last December I posted leftover chapati (POLI in Marathi) recipe "Kuskara". Kuskara is our all-time favorite dish. Yesterday after so many days I made Policha Ladoo that is chapati or roti ladoo. Aai used to do this for us as a evening snacks with morning leftover chapattis. I tell you this ladoo will turn out good only with 12-24 hrs old chapati. So that they will crumble very easily.

Ingredients

Chapati - 4-5

Grated or powdered jaggery - 4tablespoon

Ghee - 1 tablespoon

Poppy seeds - 1 teaspoon

Grated dry coconut - 1 tablespoon (optional)

Cardamom powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Procedure

Tear chapatis into pieces and grind the chapatis coarsely in a mixer. Heat kadai and add ghee into it. Fry poppy seeds in ghee. Then add grinded chapati. Fry it for 1 minute. Now add jaggery, grated dry coconut and mix well. Saute it till jaggery melts properly. Take off heat. Add cardamom powder. This mixture should be little soft. If the mixture is little dry add little milk into it. Make little ladoos of it. Everybody will be happy and you can solve the problem of leftover chapatis:)

My contribution for Think Spice Think Poppy Seeds initiated by Sunita

Chegodilu… Muruku

When I read about this Chegodilu in Indian Cooking Challenge, I was wondering what it should be? When I search for the image on net and I found it's a Muruku… the name I knew about this dish. For the first time I ate this in Hyderabad at my Mausi's house. I tried this and everybody likes it. Tastes good with hot tea.

Ingredients

Rice flour - 3/4 cup

All purpose flour/ Maida - 1/4 cup

Ghee - 2 tbsp

Ajwain - 1/4 tsp

Red chilli powder - 1/4 tsp

Turmeric really a pinch

Salt as per taste

Oil to deep fry

Procedure

Boil 1 cup water in a bowl, add salt to it. When the water starts boiling, remove from stove, add ajwain, red chilli powder, turmeric and flours. Stir with a ladle to make sure it is mixed well. Pour ghee on it and cover. Once it cools, knead it to form smooth dough. Pinch out small balls of dough and roll them like threads between your palm or on rolling pan, bring the ends together to form into small rings. Fry them in hot oil till they turn golden in colour. Store in a airtight container.

Notes: Remember to turn the heat to medium to high and high to medium for getting the Chegodilu to golden colour and also to be cooked evenly. Only this way you get crispy Chegodilu. These should not be cooked on low flame as they will absorb more oil and can turn soggy also at times.

Variation: Instead of Ajwain, Cumin and Sesame seeds, can be used along with chili powder.

Nankatai

Nan Katai…. wow it's my favorite cookie. I used to make this from my college days. That time we had that small round electric oven. I used to make some cakes, khari, puffs and nankatai which my Kaku taught me after my 12th exam. Gone those days….. I thought to make this lovely cookies once again and started to find out my first recipe notebook. I finally got the recipe and here it is for you all…..

Ingredients

All purpose flour (Maida) - 1 cups

Ghee - 5-6 tablespoon (Earlier kaku was used to make it with dalda-Vanaspati ghee)

Powder sugar - half cup

Baking powder - 3/4 teaspoon

Cardamom powder - 1/4 teaspoon.

a pinch of salt (Optional)

Procedure

Sift all the powders together. Now by adding little ghee at a time knead a soft dough. Don't use water for this. You can increase the quantity of ghee if required. Cover it and keep aside for an hour or so. Now grease a tray. Preheat oven on 180 °C. Make small equal balls of dough and press them with your palm. If you like put some pistachio slice on it. Arrange these ball on tray. Keep some distance because the size get bigger after baking. Bake for 20 minutes. Store it in a airtight container after it gets cool. Tastes good with tea:)

This goes to Sara's Cakes n Cookies Event.

And to Susan's Eat Christmas Cookies season 3

Khaugiri turned one

I can't just believe …… It has been a year when I started Khaugiri. When I started this blog this was only a try…… but now Khaugiri has become my passion. This one years journey was full of learning, experimenting, becoming nostalgic about food…… and one good thing is, I never thought that I will get good friends like all of you. From bottom of my heart I thank you all for your encouragement and support with your valuable comments. I immensely happy to get friends like you. I wish same strength from you :)

I would like to thank my family and all my friends who constantly encourage and support me to bring Khaugiri at this stage. And specially to Nilesh, my Husband……. Because for last full year this poor guy has to wait for the dish to come to him after clicking so many photographs with lots of angles:)…… The last line of my most of the posts…."Serve hot" was proven wrong for him.

So friend I assure you, you will get more variety food in Khaugiri ………….So lage raho……...

Methi Murg

We tried this dish in "Oye Amritsar" restaurant in Bangalore. The taste was good. Then as usual, I searched for the recipe in my books collection and on Net. And with mixing all I made the dish and the taste was more or less like the restaurant :). So my version of Methi Murg for u:)

Ingredients

Boneless chicken - 500 Gms

Methi leaves - 1 cup

Chopped tomatoes - 2

Chopped onion - 2

Chopped green chilli - 1

Ginger- garlic paste - 2 teaspoons

Cumin-Coriander powder -1 teaspoon

Garam Masala - 1 teaspoon

Red chilli powder - 1 teaspoon

Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Kasoori Methi - 1 teaspoon

Cream - 2 tablespoon

Oil - 2 tablespoon

Salt for taste

Procedure Marinate chicken with 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste, salt and turmeric powder for 30 minutes. Heat oil in kadai. Add onion and fry till it get golden brown. Then add remaining ginger-garlic paste and mix it wel. Add tomatoes and fry till it leaves oil on side. Add salt, turmeric, red chilli powder, garam masala powder, Cumin-coriander powder and Kasoori methi. Mix it properly. Now add chicken and mix wel. Then add chopped methi leaves, mix it. Cook for 10 minutes with lead. When Chicken get cooked properly add fresh cream and mix it. Cook it for next 5 minute. As per your choice you can add little water for desired consistency. Serve hot with Chapati.