Kalaakand (Milk Cake)

Chef: Ashoo Mittal (35), Homemaker, Illinois (USA)

Ingredients

To serve about 10-20 pieces of Kalaakand

1) Condensed milk - 1 tin (500 grams)

2) Paneer (cottage cheese) - 0.5 kg

3) Elaichi (Cardamom) Powder - 3 tea spoons

4) Milk Powder - 2 heaped tea spoons

5) Silver leaf  - 1 or 2 (depending on the size of each sheet)

6) Pistachio slices for garnishing

 

Steps for Preparation

1. Mash the paneer coarsely and the add the milk powder to it. Add the condensed milk to it and mix well. Stir evenly to avoid lumps.

2. Heat the mix in a thick bottomed pan . Cook on a medium  heat with the constant stirring till the mixture becomes thick (approximately 8-10 min)

3. Remove from the fire and spread onto a greased plate in an even thickness of about 1 to 1.5 inches. 

4. Sprinkle elaichi powder on it evenly with your hand

4. Top with silver leaf and/or pistachio slices (optional)

5. Let it cool and set for about 30 minutes

6. Cut into desired shape and serve (do not refrigerate)

 

Estimated Preparation Time: 1 hour

Shelf Life: For immediate consumption 

Best Served as: A dessert at any time

Makhaaney Wali Matter Paneer Curry (Cottage Cheese and Peas Curry with Foxnut)

Chef: Ashoo Mittal (35), Homemaker, Illinois, USA


Ingredients
(for serving 3-4 people) 

1. Peas - 250 gms
2. Paneer (cottage cheese) - 200 gms
3. Cream  - 1/2 Cup
4. Tomato -  2 big size
5. Ginger paste - 1tsp
6. Oil / Ghee - 1 Table spoon
7. Salt - To Taste
8. Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
9. Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
10. Asafoetida - A Pinch
11. Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
12. Amchur  powder - 1/2 tsp
13. Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp
14. Red Chilly powder - 1/4 tsp
15. Green chilly - 2 chopped
16. Oil for frying
17. Cashews - 7 (Garnishing)
18. Makhaanas (Fox Nut) -7 (Garnishing)
19. Grated Paneer (Garnishing) 

Steps for Preparation

1. Put the oil in the pan on a medium flame . Heat the oil and then put the asafoetida with the cumin seeds in the pan. Cracking sound will come.
2. Now put the ginger paste with chopped green chilly in the pan till it turns brown . Put the grated/pureed tomatoes in the pan and cook them till all the water dries out and oil is separated out from the pulp.
3. Add the cream in this ,cook for 3-4 min.
4. Add all the dry masales in the cream mix ,cook for 5 min.
5. Peas are added in the paste and put a glass full of water  . Cook for 15 min on low flame.
6. In the meantime, fry the diced paneer on a high flame till they are light brown in color.
(this is optional,can be avoided)
7. Add the paneer pieces (1x1) in the peas .Cook for 8 min . on a low flame.
8. Pour the cooked dish in the serving bowl and garnish with cashews, makhanna and graed paneer.
9. Serve it hot .

Estimated Cooking Time: 45 min


Shelf Life: For immediate consumption


Best Served as: main curry at lunch / dinner with chapattis or puris / naans.

Eggless Chocolate Cake

Chef: Ashoo Mittal (35), Homemaker, Illinois (USA)


Ingredients
For serving 6-7 people
1) All purpose Flour (Maida)- 1.5 cups
2) Cocoa Powder - 0.5 Cup
3) Baking Soda -0.5 Tea spoon
4) Baking Powder - 1 Tea spoon
5) Sugar Powdered - 1.5 Cups
6) Curd/Plain Yoghurt - One third of a cup
7) Milk (luke warm)- One third of a cup
8) Vanilla essence- 1 Teaspoon
9) Butter melted-  0.5 Cup

Steps for Preparation
1. Mix all the dry ingredient togther ie. maida, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder.
2. Now sieve all through a fine srtrainer and keep it aside.
3. Preheat the oven at 375F.
4. Mix the curd,milk and butter in a mixing bowl.
5. Then add dry ingredients mix to the liquid mix slowly to form a smooth slack mix. The mixture should have any lumps,so mix it very gently with a beater.
6. Grease a baking dish with a vegetable oil or spray a baking spray and dust it with the all purpose flour.
7. Put the mix in the baking dish and keep it in the preheated oven at 375 F for 25-30 minutes.
8. Take the baked cake out, cool it and then serve it.

Estimated Preparation Time: 45 minutes


Best Served With: Icecream and choclate sause, optionally accompanied by a fruit cocktail


Shelf Life: 1-2 days

Gattey Ki Sabzee (Gram Flour Dumplings Curry)

Chef: Nirmal Gupta (56), Homemaker, Delhi, India

Ingredients:
To serve 4-5 people
1.  Besan (gram flour or chickpea flour): 1 cup
2.  Aniseed (1 pinch)
3.  Asafoetida (1 pinch)
4.  Salt (1/2 tea spoon or as per taste)
5.  Chilly powder (1/4 tea spoon)
6.  Turmeric powder (1/2 tea spoon)
7.  Fresh Ginger (10 grams)
8.  Garam Masala (1/4 tea spoon)
9.  Tomatoes (4)
10. Coriander powdwer  1/4TSP
11. Fresh Coriander leaves (about 25grams)
12. Cooking Oil (4 tea spoons)
13. Baking powder (1 pinch)
14. Fresh water (2 glasses)
15. Green chillies (2-3)




Steps For Preparation
1) Take dry chickpea flour, salt, aniseed, chilly powder, baking powder in a bowl and mix.
2) Add water and make a stiff paste of the above. Roll the paste in to a cylinder of about a finger thickness and about 1 foot long.
3) Take a fry pan and boil the water. Add these rolls to the water. Boil them for about 15 minutes.
4) Poke the rolls with the tip of a knife to see the whether the besan rolls had been cooked. If the knife comes out clean with no flour sticking to it, then the boiling can be stopped.
5) Take out the boiled rolls, and keep the water aside for the gravy.
6) Cut the rolls into small pieces of about 2 cm each. These pieces are called gattey.
7) Put a fry pan on burner, add oil and let it heat up.
8) Add asafoetida and aniseed to the oil, soon followed by tomato pieces, turmeric powder, coriander powder, green chillies. Let these cook on medium flame for about 3-4 minutes.
9) Add the gattey and the water (which we kept aside earlier from boiling the rolls) to the roasted mixture in the pan.
10) Cook for 10 minutes (do not place the lid on the pan) and you would see that the gravy thickens. Turn off the flame at this time.
11) Garnish it with fresh coriander leaves (thinly chopped) and serve. The dish is now ready tio serve.

Estimated Time To Cook: 1 hour
Shelf Life: Best consumed within a couple of hours after preparation
Best Served With: Chapati / Naan, Rice, Paranthas

Masala Baingan (Eggplant)

Chef: Nirmal Gupta (56), Homemaker, Delhi (India)


Ingredients
For serving 2-3 people for 1 meal
1. Egg plant (small, red) - 500 grams
2. Coriander (50 grams) - thinly chopped
3. Turmeric powder - 0.5 tea spoon
4. Coriander powder - 2 tea spoon
5. Red chilly powder - 0.5 tea spoon
6. Amchur powder - 1 tea spoon
7. Cumin Seeds (jeera) - 0.5 tea spoon
8. Garam Masala - 0.25 tea spoon
9. Cooking Oil - 2-3 table spoons (Recommended: Mustard Oil)
10. Salt - As per taste
11. Lemon - One



Steps for Preparation
1. Slice the egg plants into slices, remove the stalks while cutting.
2. Take a cooking pan (wide base) and add oil to it. 
3. Heat the oil and add cumin seeds, and let them roast to a dark brown color 
4. Finely chop the green chillies and add to the oil - be careful not to char the chillies completely5. Add the egg plant slices to the pan and roast for about 5 minutes, tossing the slices around for uniform cooking on all sides. Make sure that the pan is not covered during this time.
6. Add all the spices (turmeric powder, salt, coriander powder, amchur powder, garam masala, red chilly powder) and mix well. Cover the pan and let the mixture cook for 10-15 more minutes on low flame. Stir occasionally during this time.
7. Turn off the flame and leave the contents covered in a pan for a few minutes. The curry is not ready to serve.
8. Squeeze a few drops of fresh lemon (while eating) to make it tangy, if you prefer it that way
9. Garnish with thinly chopped coriander leaves

Estimated Preparation Time: 35 minutes

Shelf Life: For immediate consumption


Best Served With: Chapaati / Bread / Naan

Spicy Colocasia (Arvi Masala)

Chef: Nirmal Gupta (56), Homemaker, Delhi (India)


Ingredients
For serving 2-3 people for 1 meal
1. Colocasia - 500 grams
2. Green chillies (3-4)
3. Coriander (50 grams) - thinly chopped
4. Turmeric powder - 0.5 tea spoon
5. Coriander powder - 1.5 tea spoon
6. Red chilly powder - 0.5 tea spoon
7. Amchur powder - 1 tea spoon
8. Aniseed (ajwain) - 0.5 tea spoon
9. Garam Masala - 0.25 tea spoon
10. Asafoetida (heeng) powder - 0.25 tea spoon
11. Cooking Oil - 2-3 table spoons (Recommended: Mustard Oil)
12. Salt - As per taste
13. Lemon - One



(Picture: Colocasia)


Steps for Preparation
1. Peel the skin off all the colocasia and wash
2. Thinly slice the colocasia into thin finger like wafers
3. Take a cooking pan (wide base) and add oil to it. 
4. Heat the oil and add asofoetida powder and aniseed, quickly followed by chopped green chillies. 
5. Add the colocasia fingers to the pan. Let it roast in the oil for about 5 minutes (low flame), tossing the slices around for uniform cooking on all sides. Make sure that the pan is not covered during this time
6. Add all the spices (turmeric powder, salt, coriander powder, amchur powder, garam masala, red chilly powder) and mix well. Cover the pan and let the mixture cook for 10 more minutes on low flame. Stir occasionally during this time.
7. Turn off the flame and leave the contents covered in a pan for a few minutes. The curry is not ready to serve.
8. Squeeze a few drops of fresh lemon (while eating) to make it tangy, if you prefer it that way
9. Garnish with thinly chopped coriander leaves

Estimated Preparation Time: 30 minutes


Shelf Life: For immediate consumption


Best Served With: Chapaati / Bread / Naan

Kaju Katlee

Chef: Ashoo Gupta (35), Homemaker, Illinois (USA)

Ingredients
For preparing about 20 pieces
1. Cashews (Kaju) - whole, unsalted - 2 cups
2. Water - 1 cup
3. Sugar - 3/4 cup
4. Thinly sliced almonds - 50 gm (for garmishing)
5. Dry Milk Powder - 4 tea spoons

Steps for Preparation
1. Grind the whole cashews in the grinder into fine powder.
2. Mix the sugar and the water and put in a boiling pan
3. Boil the sugar water mixture until it forms into a thick syrup (2 thread consistency*)
4. Remove the sugar syrup from the stove and add the ground cashew powder. Mix it well.
5. Now add the milk powder into the mixture.
6. Mix well until it forms one thick dough, which you can roll into the shape of a ball
7. Grease a baking tray with a touch of ghee / vegetable oil
8. Now roll out the dough onto the plate and work it into a flat slab using a rolling pin. Make sure that the thickness is even
9. Let the rolled dough cool down
10. Cut the rolled dough into diamond shaped pieces
11. Sprinkle out the chopped almond slivers and serve.

* Take a drop of the syrup onto your thumb. Press one finger tip on it and slowly draw the finger tip up. If 2 strands of the syrup get formed and stay connecting the thumb and the finger, then you are done

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Shelf Life: 2-3 days
Best Served: As a sweet that can be had any time

Tangy Mango Chutney (Chatpatee Aam Ki Launjee)

Chef: Nirmal Gupta (56), House wife, New Delhi

Ingredients
(to prepare about 400-500 gm chutney)


1. Raw Mango (about 400-500 gm)
2. Sugar (300-400gms depending on how sour the mango is)
3. Black Salt (1/2 tea spoon) 
4. White Salt (1/2 tea spoon)
5. Red chilly powder (1/4 tea spoon, or as per taste)
6. Garam Masala (1/4 tea spoon)


Steps for preparation       
1.Wash the raw mangoes and wipe a dry cloth.
2.Peel the raw mangoes and then grate it finely till all the pulp is removed from the mango.
3. Place this grated pulp in a cooking pan and add sugar in it.
4. Turn on the stove and cook on low flame for 5 minutes. Stir continuously.
5. When the pulp and sugar reach a nice golden yellow state, add black salt as well as white salt, red chilly powder and garam masala.
6. Continue to cook for another 5 minutes while stirring.
7. Allow it to cool and serve
8. Garnish with pomegranate seeds or red cherries while serving, if preferred


Estimated Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Best Served With: Bread, chapati 
Shelf life: 2-3 weeks (if refrigerated)

Chilly Potatoes

Chef: Akanksha Agarwal (26), New Delhi, India

Ingredients:

To Be Mixed As A Marination

1. 2 tsp chilli sauce
2. 1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
3. 1 1/2 tbsp vinegar
4. 3 tbsp tomato sauce
5. 1/2 tsp salt
6. 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper powder

Other Ingredients

1. 250 gms baby potatoes
2. 1 tbsp oil
3. 2 tsp chopped green chillies
4. 2 tsp chopped garlic
5. 2 tbsp chopped coriander
6. salt to taste
7. 1/4 tsp chilli powder 

Preparation Steps

1. Slice the potatoes (taking off little thick peels) and keep aside in a bowl of cold water.
2. Heat the oil in a deep frying pan and deep-fry the potato slices till it turns to golden brown colour from all the sides.
3. Dip the fried potato slices in the prepared marination and keep aside for 10 minutes.
4. Heat the oil in a pan, add the garlic and green chillies saute for a minute on a medium flame.
5. Add the potatoes along with the marination, coriander or mint leaves, chilli powder and salt, mix well and cook for 5 minutes on a slow flame.
6. Serve hot with toothpicks inserted in each slice.

Estimated Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Best Served with: Tamarind / Mint & Coriander Chutney, Soda

Pasta Indiana

Chef: Akanksha Agarwal (26), New Delhi, India

Ingredients
Pasta:

• 2 cups whole grain penne pasta
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon Salt

Vegetables:

• 2 medium sliced carrots
• 1/2 cup chopped green beans
• 1 medium chopped bell pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped cauliflower
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon Salt

For Pasta sauce:

• 6 medium diced tomatoes
• 1 15 oz can of diced tomato
• 2 tablespoons Olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped basil
• 1 teaspoon red chili flakes (adjust to taste)
• 1 teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon sugar (adjust to taste)

For Preparing Pasta:

• 2 tablespoons Olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped basil
• 1 teaspoon red chili flakes (adjust to taste)

Preparation Steps


Part - 1 (Pasta and Vegetables)
1) In a large pot boil the water with salt and oil.
2) After water comes to the boil add the pasta.
3) Cook the pasta until it is just tender, not too soft. Drain the water and set pasta aside.
4) To prepare the vegetables, heat some oil in a frying pan over medium high heat.
5) Add vegetables (carrot, green beans, bell pepper and mushrooms) and sauté until they are nearly tender.

Part - 2 (Pasta Sauce)

1. Mix the cornstarch in ¼ cup of water and keep aside.
2. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and add the basil, Italian herbs, and chili flakes stir and add tomatoes.
3. Let the tomatoes cook until they become pasty.
4. Next add cornstarch, salt and sugar to the tomato sauce, cornstarch will give thickness to the sauce.
5. Next add the sauté vegetables to the sauce and cook for few minutes on medium heat until sauce come to the desirable thickness.

Part - 3 (Bringing it all together)

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan and add basil and chili flakes stir for few seconds.
2. Next add the drained pasta and sauté for a minute until pasta is well coated with oil.
3. Pour the vegetable sauce over the pasta
4. Serve hot with slice of French bread and salad.

Estimated Preparation Time: 1 hour

Best Served with: Garlic bread, salad

Green Mint & Coriander Chutney

Chef: Nirmal Gupta (56), Home-maker, New Delhi, India

Ingredients:
1) 100gm fresh mint leaves
2) 150gm fresh coriander leaves
3) 20 gm fresh curry leaves
4) 1 fresh red onion
5) 1 raw mango
6) 2 green chillies (can be increased or decreased as per taste)
7) Amchur powder (2 tsp), Coriander powder (2 tsp), Salt (2 tsp)
8) Water (1 tumbler)
9) 1 lemon


Preparation Steps:
1) Pick the mint, coriander and curry leaves from the stalks, leaving some fresh stalks in
2) Peel the raw mango and cut into small pieces (appropriate for grinding)
3) Peel the red onion and dice it into medium sized pieces (appropriate for grinding)
4) Remove the stalks from the green chillies and break them by hand into 2-3 pieces each
5) Add all the ingredients from Step 1-4 above into the blender
6) Add a little water (about 50 ml) to the blender and grind for 2-3 minutes, until the contents are all blended into a uniform paste. The paste should have the consistency of a normal ketchup. Add more water if needed.
7) Add amchir powder, coriander powder and salt now and blend further for 30 seconds
8) Squeeze the leon juice and add the juice (remove seeds before adding) to the chutney in the blender. Mix it well
9) Your chutney is now ready to be enjoyed.
10) Store in a glass container and keep in the refrigerator for later use.

Estimated Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Shelf Life: 3-4 days (if stored in refrigertaor)
Best Served With: Indian Chaat (Bhelpuri, Samosa, Panu Puri, Paapdi), Fast Food, Fried Snacks, Sandwiches, Chapaati