Fruit Cake

*.Ingredients:>

( measuring cup
used , 1 cup = 250 ml )

*.for soaking in the rum:>

½ cup raisins

½ cup chopped cashews

¼ cup chopped citrus peels

8 -9 apricots (dry or fresh )

½ cup chopped dates

¼ cup tutti fruity

9 -10 glazed cherries , sliced

1 cup rum or 1 cup orange juice
or apple juice for the main cake batter

1 and ½ cup all purpose flour / maida

¾ cup whole wheat flour

1 and ½ cup demerara sugar or
brown sugar or powdered sugar.

1 cup oil or melted butter.

1 cup soy milk or any nut milk or dairy milk

2 tbsp apple cider or regular vinegar

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

*. The spice mix:>

1 inch or 1 . 5 inches cinnamon

2 cloves

2 cardamom

2 all spice

a generous pinch or two of grated nutmeg.

                         *Preparation:>

*.soaking the dryfruits :>

1. firstly chop all the dry fruits
and take them in a bowl or a jar .

2. pour rum in the bowl or jar.

3. cover and let the dry fruits
soak for 12 or 24 hours.

4. in between stir or shake so
that all the dry fruits get soaked properly .

**.preparing the cake:>

1. in a dry grinder, grind the whole spices . keep aside.

2. prepare a loaf pan or a round
cake pan . i used a 6. 5 inches round pan.

3. grease the cake pan lightly
with oil .

4. you can also line the pan with
butter paper .

5. preheat the oven to 180
degrees C .

6. sieve the flours, baking powder
and the powdered spice mix.

7. add oil and demerara sugar
and mix well .

8. keep some sliced cherries for
adding on top of the cake .

9. mix some flour with the
cherries and keep aside.

10. add the soaked dry fruits and
rum .

11. stir and mix uniformly.

12. in a bowl or mug add soy milk.

13. now add apple cider and stir
gently .

14. add baking soda and stir .

15. add this frothing mixture to the
cake batter .

16. add vanilla extract.

17. stir and mix quickly but
uniformly .

18. pour in the cake pan .

19. shake the pan lightly so that
the cake is spread evenly throughout the whole pan .

20. place the sliced cherries on the
top .

21. bake in the preheated oven for
180 degrees C for 1 :45 minutes or more or less depending on your oven.

*.Tips:>

*.few tips for christmas fruit cake
recipe :

1 . if the top of the cake browns
quickly, then cover the top with
butter paper or aluminium foil .

2 . instead of soy milk you can use
dairy milk or nut milk.

3 . instead of oil you can use butter .

4 . do add the candied peels as they
really add some bitter notes to the
cake which is otherwise sweet and
this is what makes the christmas
fruit cake different from a regular
fruit cake .

5 . the dry fruits mixture can be
soaked in orange juice instead of
rum . you can also use a half half
mixture of rum and wine if you
want .

6 . if using orange juice than just
soak for 1 day only and keep the
the bowl in the fridge. if kept
outside even for 1 day in a warm
climate like that of india , the orange
juice will get spoilt .

7 . the fruit cake can also be
completely made with whole wheat
flour or all purpose flour .

Modak

*Ingredients:>

*.For the filling: 

2 Cup shredded fresh coconut

1/2 Cup mixture of unsalted pistachios and unsalted cashews

1/2 Pinch of cardamom powder

1/2 Cup milk

1 Cup jaggery or sugar

*. For the outer cover:

1 Cup rice flour

1 tsp Ghee

1 Cup water

1/2 tsp Salt

                   Preparation:>

1. To prepare the filling, combine coconut, milk and jaggery or sugar and mix the ingredients well. Cook it over medium flame, stir continuously till they are mixed properly.

2. Add cashews and pistachios and cook for about one minute. Now add cardamom powder. Keep aside the mixture to allow it to cool down.

3. Bring the water to a boil in a vessel. Now add flour, ghee and salt, stir quickly to remove all lumps. Cover the vessel with a lid for some
time and let it cook.

4. Remove the lid and keep stirring the mix. Now remove the pan from heat and transfer all the mixture on a flat plate.

5. Knead it to make soft dough. It should be neither too sticky nor too dry. Grease the palms of your hands properly and make a ball from the dough. Flatten the dough to make a
cup shape.

6. Put 3/4 tsp coconut filling into this cup. Dip thumb and index finger in the oil and make 5-6 small pinches on the outside edges of the
cup.

7. Bring them together on top and join to shape a peak. Put modak on a greased plate. Make rest of the modaks in the similar way. Now steam them for about 15 minutes and serve with ghee.

*. Notes:   A modak (Marathi: मोदक) is a sweet dumpling popular in Western and Southern India.

Chicken Tikka

*Ingredients:>

• 500 gms Boneless, skinless chicken breasts.

• 2 tbsp Tomato paste

• 2 tbsp Lemon juice

• 2 tsp Ground coriander

• 2 tsp Curry Powder

• 1/2 tsp Paprika

• 2 cups plain Yoghurt or curd

• 4 Garlic Cloves (finely chopped)

• 1 inch Fresh Ginger (chopped)

• 2 tsp Ground cumin

• 3 tbsp Butter

                       *Preparation:>

Mix all ingredients except chicken together in a bowl.

• Refrigerate overnight.

• Add chicken (cut in cubes) and marinate it in the above-mentioned bowl.

• Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours.

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.

• Bring chicken to room temperature and skewer on bamboo skewers (soaked in water for 30 minutes).

• Place on baking tray and bake in oven for 45 minutes.

• 3 tbsp of butter can be drizzled over for the last 5 minutes of cooking. Serve hot with chutney and onion rings.

Fruits Lassi

  *. Ingredients:>

• 50 g Seasonal Fresh Fruits (chopped)

(reserve 2 tbsp for the garnish)

• 150 ml Yogurt or curd

• 3 tbsp Sugar

• A pinch of Salt

• 50 ml Water

                      *.Preparation:>

                    

1. Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend till smooth and the sugar dissolves.

2. Pour in a glass.

3. Garnish with the remaining fruits.

4. Serve chilled.

*Tips:  You can added ice cube or clod water.

Chicken Paratha

*. Ingredients:>

*. For the stuffing:>

boneless & skinless chicken-2 lb

onions- 1

coriander powder - 1/2 tbsp

garam masala- 1 tsp

turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

chillipowder- 1/2 tsp(or according to taste)

curry leaves- a few

coriander leaves chopped

oil- 1 tbsp

salt to taste

*. For the dough:>

Wheat flour- 1lb

ghee or butter- 1 1/2 tbsp

salt to taste

                     *.Preparation:>

1. Make the dough using the above ingredients, and keep it aside for 1/2-1 hr. Keep the dough covered with a moist cloth.

2. Boil chicken in a saucepan till almost cooked. Cool and chop the chicken in a blender.

3. Heat the oil. Add the chopped onions & curry leaves. Fry till golden brown. Add all the dry powders and fry for 30 secs. Add the minced
chicken and salt and fry till the raw smell of the coriander powder goes off. (takes appro. 4-5 minutes in medium heat). Remove from heat and mix in coriander leaves.

4. Make lemon-sized balls from the dough. Roll the ball from the edges leaving a small hunch in the center.

5. Take enough chicken stuffing and roll the dough to make a ball once again. Flatten it carefully to the size desired. Heat the tava and place the paratha for a minute or so.

6. Add a few drops of melted butter or ghee to the top uncooked side and then flip it over. Turn once again after 30 secs or so and place the paratha in a long aluminum foil.

7. Do the same way with the rest of the parathas. Place all the parathas one above the other in the aluminum foil and make sure you  wrap it every time. The idea of using the foil is to retain the heat and moisture of the
parathas.

8. Stays fresh for 24 hrs. Can be
reheated in a microwave oven.

*. Tips:  it,s test better when serve quickly..

Luchi

*. Ingredients :>

(measuring cup
used, 1 cup = 250 ml)

2 cups maida/all purpose flour

2 tbsp ghee or 2.5 tbsp oil

water as required

salt as required

ghee or oil for deep frying

           
                       *Preparation:>

1. in a bowl or a large plate/tray
first add the flour, ghee and salt.

2. add 1 or 2 tbsp water and mix
everything with your hands or
with a spatula.

3. then add about ½ cup of water
and begin to knead the flour.

4. add water as required and knead
very well. the dough should be
soft and smooth.

5. cover the dough with a moist
kitchen napkin and let it rest for
minimum 30 minutes at room
temperature.

6. make lemon sized balls from the
dough and cover them with the
moist napkin.

7. apply some oil on the balls, roll
each into a circle of about 3-4
inches.

8. heat oil for deep frying in a kadai
or pan. the oil has to become
hot.

9. drop a small piece of the dough
in the oil and if it comes up
steadily from the bottom, it
means the oil is ready for the luchi to be fried.

10. gently drop the dough circle into
the hot oil. the luchi will begin to
puff up.

11. gently nudge with a spoon to
help in the complete puffing up of
the luchi.

12. when one side has become
creamish and the oil has stopped
sizzling, turn over and fry the
other side.

13. remove and drain luchi on
kitchen towels for the extra oil to
be soaked.

14. serve luchi hot with aloor dum,
chola dal or any bengali
vegetable or lentil curry.

Malpua

       *.Ingredients:> 

  1 cup coarsely ground whole                                                                                 wheat flour (gehun ka atta)

   1/2 cup sugar

  1 tbsp fennel seeds (saunf)

  10 peppercorns, crushed

   1/4 cup curds (dahi), beaten

    1/2 cup milk

    ghee for deep frying

   For the garnish

    2 tsp chopped pistachios

                       *Preparation:>

1. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and add approx. 1½ cups of warm water. Mix well to make a smooth batter. Leave aside for 45 minutes.

2. Heat ghee in a shallow kadhai (the ghee should be approximately 25 mm. (1") deep).

3. Pour a spoonful of the batter into the hot ghee and deep fry over a medium flame. Cook on both sides till the malpua is golden
brown.

4. Drain on absorbent paper.

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the remaining batter.

6. Serve hot, garnished with pistachios.

*Tips:>

1. You will find coarsely ground wheat flour at some provision stores.

2. You can use 2 tablespoons of semolina with 1 cup whole wheat flour (gehun ka atta) instead of coarsely ground wheat flour for
the above recipe.

*. Notes: This is Rajasthani Dish... & it,s also populer as a Bengali Dish.

Cheese Pasta

*Ingredients:>

cup macaroni(pasta)

12 cherry tomatoes

1/2 cup milk

1 sprig rosemary

1 sprig thyme

1 spring onion

2 cloves garlic

10 gms chopped onions

10 gms chopped leeks

10 gms chopped celery

1 bay leaf

60 gms butter

30 gms flour

1 pinch white pepper

1/2 tsp nutmeg grated

15 gms parmesan cheese

20 gms cheddar cheese

15 gms brie cheese

20 gms swiss emmental cheese

Pinch of chilli flakes

                   *Preparation:>

1. Boil the macaroni in salted water.
After boiling strain and put in a bowl with olive oil.

2. Melt the butter with flour in a saucepan along with olive oil.
Boil some milk with rosemary, thyme, bay leaf and spring onions.

3. Strain the milk in with the flour and butter, whisking slowly. Make sure you keep stirring the sauce.

4. Season with salt and pepper. Once the sauce coats the back of your spoon means it's done.

5. Grate parmesan, add cheddar, some chunks of brie and emmental.
Put in the sauce and mix it in.

6. In a hot pan add some slice garlic, cherry tomatoes, chilli flakes and a pinch of salt.

7. Saute well and deglaze with a touch of white wine. Mix the macaroni with the sauce and serve.