Cashew in spinach Curry (KAJU PALAK)

CASHEW IN SPINACH CURRY

(KAJU PALAK) 

(This Indian curry is a twist to the regular Spinach curry. It has got the tanginess from the yogurt and richness of the cashews. It goes well with any Indian bread like roti  , naan and is just as good with rice.)

Ingredients : 

1tbspn oil , 3-4 cups spinach , fist full cilantro , 2 cloves of garlic , 1/2 cup thinly sliced onion ,
pinch of cumin, 1/4th tspn coriander powder , 1/2 tspn Garam masala, salt to taste , 2 tbsp yogurt , 1/4 cup heavy cream(optional)

Roasted cashews halves 

2tbspn oil ,  2tbspn julienned ginger, 1/4 tspn red chilly powder 

Procedure :

Boil some water in a saucepan and add spinach to it . Turn off the heat and let it sit till the spinach wilts down and cooks . Remove the spinach from the hot water and dunk it into an ice bath . This stops the process of cooking and keeps the frsg green color intact . 

In a blender blend garlic + spinach + cilantro to a fine purée. 

Heat oil in a pan , add a pinch of cumin and the add the spinach purée + garam masala + salt + well beaten yogurt + heavy cream (optional)

Do not over cook as it may affect the color of the curry . 

When you are ready to serve add the roasted cashew halves in the curry . You may roast raw cashews on oil or use the store bought roasted cashews . 

Right before you serve, heat a little oil to fry the ginger juliennes on medium high heat till golden brown. Add the red chilly powder and pour this tadka over the curry. This finishing touch gives the curry a very unique flavor . 

Mnm Cookies

Mnm Cookies

(Try to find a kid that does not like MnM.... You won't find any.... Use MnMs to make cookies and you will have the little cookie monsters eager to showdown a whole batch of cookies in no time.)

Ingredients : 

1 stick butter , 1 egg at room temperature , 1 tspn vanila extract

2 tbspn milk

1 cup sugar , 1/2 cpu cocoa powder , 1 cup all purpose flour , 1 tspn baking soda

1/4th tspn salt , 1 cup mini Mnm

Procedure :

Cream the butter and sugar together with a whisk till the mixture feels light to whisk. Add  vanilla extract and egg  and mix well. Then add cocoa powder , all purpose flour  , baking soda , salt and few mnms to the bowl and mix well. Add milk  to make the cookie dough You may add lesser or a little more milk to adjust the consistency. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Scoop the balls of the cookie dough onto a greased baking sheet and top them with colorful mom. Do not press the dough because it does flatten while being baked. Bake for about 10 minutes and move them to the cooling rack… 

Try your patience for the cookies to cool down . If you are lucky enough to have any leftovers store them in an airtight container.

Hash Brown

HASH BROWNS

(Hash browns are a staple breakfast food at diners.They go good with eggs and bread for breakfast and is also a good accompaniment with tea or coffee. Come in handy as an appetizer too)

Ingredients : 

6 medium sized potatoes  , salt to taste , 1/2 tspn onion powder , 1 tbspn rice flour

Oil to shallow/deep fry

Procedure : 

Peel and grate 6 medium sized potatoes. Give them an ice water bath and drain the starchy water and rinse them 2-3 times. Let them sit in the collander to drain off the liquid for about 30 minutes. 

 Squeeze out all the excess water with a muslin cloth. Put them in a microwavable  bowl and cook it for 12 minutes 3 minutes at a time… Stir after every 3 minutes to ensure even cooking. Add salt to taste + onion powder and rice flour or cornstarch. 

Make bite size pieces and shallow-fry or deep-fry till golden brown.

You can freeze them in ziplock bags for later use and fry them as you need. 

Cinnamon Rolls

CINNAMON ROLLS 

(The dropping temperature or an occasional overshadow , call for recipes that comfort our soul and fill our kitchen and house with aroma of spices. A go-to recipe that is bound to be talk of the town is Cinnamon rolls.)

Ingredients : 

For the dough : Dough : 1.5 cup all purpose flour , 1/4 cup sugar , 1 packet yeast (2 +1/4 tspn)

1/2 tspn salt , 1/2 cup milk , 3 tbsp oil , 1 egg , 

For the filling : 1 tbsp unsalted butter , 3/4 cup brown sugar 2 tbsp cinnamon powder

For glaze : 1 cup powdered sugar , 1/2 tsp vanilla extract , 2 tbsp milk.

Procedure :

Sift the measured dry ingredients in a mixing bowl (all purpose flour , sugar , salt , yeast). Add 1/2 cup measured luke warm milk and mix well. This will activate the yeast.

Add 1 egg  + 3 tbsp oil and mix well. At this stage the flour is a little sticky and loose. Scrape the flour mixture on a working platform with a thin layer of all purpose flour on it. Start adding additional all purpose flour little at a time and keep incorporating it to form a nice clean ball of dough. It may take around 1/4 cup all purpose flour to get the desired result. Knead the dough well for about 3 minutes. Cover the dough and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile mix 2 tsp cinnamon powder and 1/4 cup packed brown sugar. Grease a baking sheet with unsalted butter.

After the dough has rested well spread a little flour on the platform and roll the dough into a rectangle shape (about 1/2 cm thick). Spread 1 tbsp room temperature unsalted butter evenly on the rolled sheet. Evenly sprinkle the brown sugar + cinnamon mixture. Start rolling the longer edge of the sheet into a roll. Roll it tightly may cause peaks in the center. So make sure to roll loosely. Cut the rolls into 3/4th inch pieces and place them on a baking sheet. Cover the baking sheet and let it rest for 1.5 hrs. 

Preheat oven at 350 degrees and bake for 15 minutes.

To glaze the baked rolls , mix 1 cup powdered sugar , 1/2 tsp vanilla extract. Mix well and add milk little at a time so that you get a thick paste. When the rolls cool down little bit , drizzle the glaze over them and relish the sweet retreat. 

Garlic Parmesan Bread Sticks.

BREAD STICKS

(This recipe is an easy fix to round off a perfectly planned Italian Meal. You may serve it with Pasta or with a steaming hot bowl of soup on a a rainy or chill day.)

Ingredients : 

1 egg (optional) , 1/4th cup olive oil (can be substituted by any oil without overpowering aroma) ,

1 tbspn butter , 1 packet (2-1/4th tspn) Active Dry Yeast , 1-1/4th tspn salt 

Dry Ingredients

3.5 cups all purpose flour , 1/4th cup sugar , 1 cup luke warm water

Procedure :

Sift the dry ingredients once to get rid of lumps if any. Add the egg , butter , Olive oil to he flour and mix it well. 

Adding egg is optional. The bread turns out great even without the egg. It makes it even lighter if you add one.

Add lukewarm water to make a semi soft dough. Knead well for about 3-4 minutes.

Place it in a bowl greased with olive oil. Cover and let it sit for 2 hours. 

This activates the yeast and ferments the dough to rise at least twice in volume. After about two hours Punch the 

dough to release the air and knead it for another 3-4 minutes. Make coconut size balls and roll them with a 

rolling pin to form a rectangular shape to 1/2 inch thickness.Place it on a greased baking sheet.

Use a pizza cutter to make sticks.Brush some olive oil on top. Drizzle some garlic powder and parmesan cheese.

Cover and let it sit for another 2 hrs.This process is called “Proofing the Dough”. Proofing ,term used by professional bakers , is the final dough-rise step before baking .
These are advisable times that give good results. If there is a crunch of time , you may wait till the dough rises decently.

Preheat the oven at  350 degrees and bake the sticks for 10-15 minutes. The time it takes to brown the upper crust 

varies depending on the thickness of the dough. So after 10 minutes keep an eye on the oven and extract the sticks when golden brown.

You may serve it with Marinara Sauce or Warm Alfredo Sauce.