Dry Fruits 'N' Poha Samosa

Poha or flattened rice does not regularly find a place in my kitchen.But recently bought Red Poha which seems to have vital health benefits.So planning to incorporate into my daily cooking in the form of Poha/Aval upma or Sweet poha or as dry snack.Other day  I was just fascinated to use it as a sweet stuffing inside a samosa.Improved the idea to incorporate lots of dry fruits into it and it turned to be a tasty snack for my family.If you have a sweet tooth do try this delicacy and enjoy :)

Ingredients:

For the samosa :

• Maida 1 cup
• Butter 3 tsp at room temp
• Salt to taste
• Water as needed 
• Sugar 1 tsp
• Oil 2 tsp

For the stuffing:

• Red poha 1 cup soaked in required water
• Sugar to taste adjust according to sweetness preferred
• Cherries chopped finely
• Tutti fruity as needed
• Dry grapes chopped finely
• Badam ,Cashews chopped finely
• Milk less than 1/4 cup
• Condensed milk 2 tsp
• Cardamon to taste
• Ghee to taste

Method:

• Prepare the samosa dough by mixing all the ingredients.Knead well and place it in air tight bowl inside refrigerator for 1/2 an hour.
• Meanwhile prepare the stuffing by soaking the poha for 30 mins and then squeezing and drying out excess water from it.In a bowl mix all the ingredients except milk and condensed milk.In a kadai pour little milk and and when it starts to boil add the mixed stuffing.lower the flame and give a stir till poha absorbs the milk and becomes soft.Top it off with condensed milk and a little ghee.The mixture will be lightly sticky.Let it cool for few mins.
• Now roll the samosa dough into circle and cut a semi circle out of it and make a pocket.Seal edges with maida and water paste.
• Now take a small ball of filling and spread into the pocket and seal the edges and shape the edges with a fork.
• Repeat the same and fry the samosas in hot oil.Make sure oil is not too hot nor too low in heat.
• Crunchy outside, Sweet and chewy inside,these samosas will leave you craving for more ,I say !

Stir Fried Vegetable Rice

I love the mild flavor of Classic Vegetable fried rice.Without the addition of Ajinomoto, it can be replicated in our day to day cooking in every household.The perfectly cooked rice grains and the crunchy and not-so boiled veggies would make your recipe a grand success ! :)

The colored vegetables with a mild flavor of garlic and pepper has been an easy-to cook Chinese recipe.Give it a try and munch it on with a Manchurian side dish.(coming soon..) or a simple ketchup.

INGREDIENTS

• Basmati Rice 1 cup -Washed and Soaked for 15 mins
• Water 2 cups
• Baby corn cut into tiny pieces
• Green,Yellow,Red Capsicum -3 cut into tiny pieces
• Carrots,Beans cut into small pieces
• Spring onions- 1/2 cup finely chopped
• Spring onion greens- 1/2 cup -reserve a portion for garnish
• Soy sauce 1 tsp
• Chilli sauce (optional)
• Garlic 5 nos finely chopped
• Olive oil
• Black pepper to taste
• Salt to taste
• Sugar 1 tsp

METHOD:

• Boil 2 cups of water with a drop of olive oil.Once it starts boiling add the Basmati rice (1 cup) and cook it covered.Open and stir frequently and ensure all the water is absorbed and the rice is almost cooked Not so mushy nor under-cooked.Switch off the flame.
• In a kadai,add olive oil,sugar,garlic pieces,spring onions and give a stir.Now add in the Carrots,Beans followed by baby corn pieces.Cook in medium high flame and stir briskly.Now  add the  capsicum and mix it well.
• Now once the vegetables are stir fried for 5 mins(make sure its not over cooked ) add in the soy sauce,green chilli sauce,pepper and salt
• Now add in the spring onions green and stir fry the veggies in high flame for 2 mins.
• Add in the basmati rice and mix it gently without breaking the grains.
• Serve it hot with a perfect side dish.

Paratha Roll Bites/Pinwheels With A Fusion Twist

My kiddos all time favorite is Aloo Paratha.I normally mix n match most of the grated vegetables and add to parathas and there it goes off in a jiffy.This time I wanted to make a snack recipe that fits in my little ones snack box.Thus arrived with this recipe which was an instant hit with my family.You can make this for an evening snack as well.There are many versions you can make with this recipe as you explore your creativity.

I love the idea of pinwheels which makes it bite size and easily snackable.Hence born this creation of mine.I have sauted the rolls in ghee in the final stage.I even had two other options in mind.One was to bake it and the other was to deep fry with a coat of corn flour. You can try any of these and enjoy this most delectable snack .You can use any left over parathas and make this as a quick snack.

Who doesn't love pizzas.To keep it healthy,I chose to use the pizza sauce as a spread on Aloo Paratha made of wholewheat and soya flour.The texture of Parathas were super soft.There comes another secret ingredient that we love as a family-Veg Mayonnaise. Normally we make Coleslaw Salad and serve  it up with brown bread toast and Voila ! The roll ups were amazing and the taste of pizza sauce with a Mayo twist made the taste buds craving for more.

Ingredients:

For the Aloo Paratha:

1. Whole wheat flour 1 cup
2. Soya flour 1/4 cup
3. Potatoes boiled and mashed  2 small 
4. Salt
5. Water to knead dough.
6. Butter 1 tsp

Rest the dough for min 1 hr so that you ll get the required softness

Ghee for toasting.

Fusion Twist Fillings:

1. Pizza Sauce base

• Pizza Sauce spread - readymade or homemade
• Mozarella Cheese grated

2. Mayonaisse Base(Almost like Coleslaw salad)

• Veg Mayo  as required
• Onions very finely chopped 1 small
• Cabbage/Carrots very finely shredded
• Tomato ketchup 1 tsp
• Salt very little to taste
• Chopped coriander leaves
• Dash of pepper

Method:

• Roll 2 Parathas and cut them into 2 big squares.Remove the extra dough and use for subsequent parathas.Cook the parathas with little ghee.

• Spread the 2 fillings in each of the parathas like below,

• Now place one square over the other and start rolling.Close the edges with a mixture of atta mixed with water and seal it tight.This ensures your filling doesn't ooze out.

• Now cut into small roll bites and press it tightly and toast it with ghee on all four sides. 

-  Alternatively you can try to bake it after coating with milk/deep fry after coating in corn flour-water mix.

Serve it hot.Goes well as a starter or an evening snack.The blend of pizza sauce and mayo combination is truly a delight to your taste buds. 

Enjoy it hot ! 

Quick BabyCorn Peas Layer Biryani

Authentic Layer Biryani dressed up in layers,with roasted onions and saffron flavour ,dry fruits is an all time favorite for biryani lovers.(Coming with a yummy recipe soon).But if you are running short of time and wanna quickly relish a flavorful layered biryani,you should try this easy dressed-up- in-minutes recipe.
I have taken babycorn and peas for this dish,one can mix and match different vegetables for this biryani.

What you need:

1. Basmathi  rice 1 cup
2. Ghee 
3. Cardamom,cloves,cardamom,bay leaf,Marati moggu(this gives nice flavour for biryani) as per your flavours
4. Ginger 1 small piece
5. Garlic 4 to 5 pods
6. Green chillies 2 to 3 as per your taste
7. Onions  2 sliced
8. Tomatoes 3 chopped
9. Red chilli powder
10. Turmeric powder
11. Coriander powder
12. Biryani/Garam masala
13. Kasuri methi
14. Coriander leaves
15. Dry fruits as per your choice
16. Boiled Babycorn cut into 1 inch thin slices and boiled peas
17. Lemon juice 2 tsp
18. Salt to taste

How to Proceed:

Step 1: Cook basmathi rice(as per the instructions) after soaking for min 30 mins until its nice and fluffy with each grain separate.Make sure you do not overcook it.

Step 2: Fry raisins,cashews,badam in ghee and keep it separate

Step 3: Parallely,chop babycorn into 1 inch long little thin pieces.Boil both baby corn and peas in water until cooked.

Step 4: In a mixer or gently smash greenchillies,ginger and garlic pods and set aside.

Step 5:Heat oil in a kadai with ghee in it.Splutter cinnamon,cloves,cardamon,marati mogu,bay leaf.Fry onions till colour changes.Add the ginger garlic and chilli paste and fry till raw smell fades. Toss in the chopped tomatoes and stir till it is mushy.

Step 6:Add salt,red chilli powder to taste,turmeric powder,coriander powder and add in the boiled baby corn and peas and cook it with light water till the flavours are absorbed in it.

Step 7:Lastly add a tsp of biryani masala/garam masala ,kasuri methi and coriander leaves.

Step 8: Squeeze lemon for added flavour

Note: You can also add a tsp of curd after adding the vegetables.

Layering:

• In a wide bowl,first layer the roasted dry fruits followed by the base masala for biryani.
• Spread another layer of rice and gently level the surface.
• Alternate it up with masala and rice.
• Add 2 tsp of ghee in the middle for flavour.Press the top surface gently.
• Now tilt the bowl upside down using a plate.
• Garnish it with dry fruits and coriander leaves.

Simply mix it up and enjoy the flavorful yummy quick layer biryani :)