Chana Masala

Chana which is a staple legume in North India also plays an eminent part of its cuisine. Another reason why this dish is something you are sure to see in the menu card in any Indian restaurant across the globe. Rich in proteins these beans are widely cooked and consumed in a completely different form in  the Mediterranean cuisine too.

Prep Time: 20 mins
Ingredients

Chana/Garbanzo beans: 1 cup/1 can
Onions (finely chopped): 1/3 cup
Tomatoes (pureed): 2
Green Chilies: 2-3
Ginger: 1 teaspoon
Garlic: 1 teaspoon
Cumin seeds: 2 teaspoons
Bay leaves: 1-2
Cardamom pods: 1
Nutmeg: a pinch
Turmeric powder: 1 teaspoon
Chili Powder: 2 teaspoons
Coriander Powder: 1 1/2 teaspoons
Jeera Powder: 1/2 teaspoon
Amchur (dry mango powder)/Chaat Masala: 1 teaspoon
Garam Masala: 1/2 teaspoon
Coriander/Cilantro leaves: handful

* For convenience sake we used the canned garbanzo beans which are already precooked. However you could soak the uncooked garbanzo beans overnight and pressure cook them until soft.

Grind the ginger, garlic and green chilies to a paste. Heat Oil in a deep pan. Add cumin seeds, bay leaves, nutmeg and cardamom pods. Add the ginger-garlic-chili paste and saute until the rawness fades. Add the chopped onions, sprinkle a pinch of salt and keep sauteing till the onions turn translucent. Add all the masala powders (turmeric, chili, coriander, cumin, chaat, garam) and mix well. Add the tomato puree and keep sauteing until all the masala mix well in the gravy and the tomatoes are fully cooked. Now add the drained garbanzo beans and little water and mix well. Let it boil for about 10-15 minutes. Garnish it with chopped coriander leaves and onions. Squeeze a tiny bit of fresh lemon juice just before serving. Pooris or batura are the best things on the earth you can have this chana masala with.

Choco Banana Berry Twist

Here's one easy smoothie you can just create in a jiffy and with these three distinct yummy flavors this drink is sure to impress your lil ones and may be even the whole family.

Prep time: 5 mins
Ingredients

Banana: 1
Strawberries: 5-6
Cocoa powder: 1 teaspoon
Milk: 1 1/2 cups
Sugar: 2 teaspoons + more if you need

First beat the banana in half cup milk until smooth. Pour into the glass Beat another cup of milk with the strawberries. Add a lil sugar if these berries are lil sour. Pour it into the glass. Beat the remaining milk with cocoa and sugar. Pour this into the glass. Give a gentle stir and serve cold.

sending this to 'Show me your Smoothie' event at Dil Se by Divya (http://divya-dilse.blogspot.com/2010/05/show-me-your-smoothie.html)

Phirni

Continuing on  a sweet note, here's one more  yummylicious desert which is more like a pudding made with  rice  and milk. This pudding when served cold in the earthen pots, has its own defining taste. Quite a popular road side  desert in North India, it  is very simple to make. Just go ahead and give it a try coz we promise every spoonful is worth it.

Prep time: 45 mins
Ingredients

Basmati Rice (soaked): 1/4 cup
Sugar: 1/2 cup or more
Half and Half / Whole Milk: 1 cup
Cardamom Powder: 1 teaspoon
Pistachios (chopped): 2 tablespoon
Slivered almonds: 1 tablespoon
Saffron: a pinch
Rose water: 1 teaspoon

Soak the rice for about 2 hours. Grind it into a fine paste. Its doesn't have to extremely smooth. A little bit of the rice morsels will add a nice touch. Meanwhile heat the milk with the sugar continuously stirring to ensure it doesn't burn or stick to the bottom. Add the rose water and cardamom powder. When the milk starts to get hot, add the ground rice paste and keeping stirring until the rice is fully cooked in the milk-sugar mixture. It will start to thicken.Turn off the heat after the rice is cooked and the milk is like a thickish  custard consistency. Stir in the chopped nuts. Mix the saffron in little milk and add to the pudding. Set it in individual bowls and let it chill. Serve cold.

Our 100th post -Strawberry Short cake

Oh my god.. we cant believe we have finally hit this milestone.. Its been such a fun journey for both of us who started this blog space somewhere a year ago only because of our deep love connection with "Food". A big thank you to our dear families, friends and readers for their continuous encouragement that has brought this blog to where it is now. The best thing after the blog kicked off is that our amazing friendship has gotten endlessly deep along with all the exploring and expanding of our knowledge bank on so many new foods, cuisines and cooking techniques..

To celebrate all these joys, here's a big slice of the sweet n simple Strawberry Short Cake with lots of love from our kitchen to yours. This recipe brings out a really nice texture in the shortcake, not very biscuity nor very spongy, but a perfect balance between the two and when served with loads of strawberries and whipped cream, it makes it's way to the top of the desert charts.

With a hope to continue our efforts in creating n sharing more fun recipes, we send our heartfelt thanks to all our dear readers once again.

Prep Time: 30 mins
Ingredients

All purpose Flour: 1 1/3 cup
Sugar: 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons
Baking powder: 2 teaspoons
Shortening : 1/2 cup
Egg: 1bs
Vanilla Essence: 1 teaspoon
Milk: 1 cup
Strawberries: 10-15
Whipping cream /Cool whip: lots
Chocolate Sauce enough to drizzle

Slice the strawberries, sprinkle about 2 tablespoons sugar and keep aside. Sieve flour, add the baking powder and sugar to it and keep aside. Using a hand mixer, cut the shortening into the flour mix until it resembles coarse crumbles.

Now add the egg and the milk and beat until smooth. The batter will be little thickish. Grease a baking dish and scrape all of the batter into the greased dish. Bake at 375° F for about 30 mins or more until the center come out clean when poked with a knife.

When slightly cooled. Slice the shortcake. Layer it with the cool whip and strawberries and drizzle the remaining strawberry juice over the top. Make it more fancy with some chocolate too.

Bon Apetit!!