Stuffed Aloo Kulche

Stuffed Aloo Kulche

Living in Jalandhar our favourite Sunday thing was to have lunch in Haveli. Though there are a chain of Haveli restaurants all along NH1 from Jammu to Delhi, yet the one in Jalandhar is the original one. For a family of die hard non vegetarians the vegetarian fare at Haveli was a much awaited affair. And there can be no better testament of the quality of food there.

The one thing we ordered every time was the stuffed Kulcha. The dough is kneaded with yogurt and fermented for a few hours. Then they are rolled out, stuffed with filling and baked in a  tandoor. Compared to parathas they are healthier as they are not fried in ghee or oil. When making at home we don’t usually have access to tandoors. You can bake it in the oven. Or you can make it on the tava using very little oil.

Ingredients

3 cups flour

1/3 tsp baking soda

A pinch of baking powder

1 tbsp oil

Salt to taste

Yogurt to knead the flour

For the filling

3 potatoes, boiled and mashed

1 tsp chopped green chillies

2 tbsp chopped green coriander

Salt to taste

½ tsp chaat masala

For garnish

Chopped coriander

Nigella seeds/kalonji

Mix together flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Add the oil and mix well. Knead using yogurt. Cover with a clingfilm and leave for about 2-3 hours.

Mix together boiled and mashed potatoes, green chillies, green coriander, chaat masala and salt.

Heat the tava. Make balls of the dough. Roll out the balls. Place potato filling in the middle and make a potli.

 Pat it down and slowly roll out the kulcha. Sprinkle some chopped coriander and Nigella seeds on top and press down well so that they don’t fall off.

 Put on tava. Roast both sides.

 Add some oil and fry till evenly browned.

Badshahi Magaz Murg

Badshahi Magaz Murg

The Mughals sure knew how to cook. The Khansamas or chefs would conjure up new and innovative dishes to please their lords and masters. They were famous for using dry fruits and cream to make their dishes rich because nothing was rich enough for the emperors.

The Badshahi Magaz Murg is an adaptation of the techniques used by the chefs of yore. I didn’t quite want to make it like a korma and hence the gravy has more elements than a chicken korma. The khada masalas give it a subtle flavour and the richness of the dish comes from the use of cashews, magaz and cream. Compared to cashews the char magaz has a nuttier taste  and so I have named this dish after the magaz.

Ingredients

1 chicken, boneless

2 onions, cubed

2 tomatoes, cubed

3 green chillies

1 tbsp ginger paste

1 tbsp garlic paste

2 black cardamoms

2 green cardamoms

1” cinnamon

1 bay leaf

2 tbsp cashews, soaked in warm water

2 tbsp char magaz

1 cup yogurt, whisked

½ cup cream

2 tbsp chicken masala

1 tsp garam masala

Salt to taste

½ tsp turmeric powder

Apply some salt to the boneless chicken and keep aside.

Put the onions, tomatoes and green chillies in a pan of water and boil for 10 minutes. 

Drain, cool and then blend into a paste.

Blend the soaked cashews and char magaz into a fine paste.

Heat some ghee. Add the green cardamoms, black cardamoms, cinnamon and bay leaf. 

Add the ginger and garlic paste and saute. Now add the onion tomato paste and cook. 

Once the oil starts leaving the sides add the chicken masala and garam masala. Saute till the masalas are well fried. Now add the cashew-char magaz paste and fry some more. Add the chicken pieces and cook on sim for 10 minutes, stirring every now and then. The idea is to incorporate the masalas into the chicken. 

Add the whisked yogurt, salt and turmeric. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover and cook till the chicken is done. 

Add the cream and switch off the heat. 

Garnish with chopped cashews. 

Eggless Date and Walnut Choco Mocha Tea Cake

Eggless Date and Walnut Choco Mocha Tea Cake

I love collecting muffins liners. I have a cupboard full of beautiful and decorative liners of all shapes and sizes. I open the cupboard once everyday and feel happy. Nowadays I look at my collection and then start thinking what to bake in them. What cake would best suit these beauties? Weird much??

So today I took out these rectangular cases. They are perfect for a birthday party because they look so festive. Unfortunately no birthdays or anniversaries are coming up. Where to use them? Then I thought they will work perfectly for high tea. So here are my little tea cakes in festive liners.

Ingredients

1 ½ cups flour

½ tsp baking powder

1 ½ cups sugar

½ cup cocoa powder

2 tbsp coffee powder

½ cup dates, chopped

¼ cup walnuts, chopped

1 cup yogurt

½ tsp baking soda

1 cup oil

¾ cup milk

Few almonds, slivered

Heat the milk. Add the cocoa powder and coffee powder and mix well so that no lumps remain.

Sift the flour and baking powder. Mix in the chopped walnuts and dates so that they are well coated in the flour. This will prevent them from sinking to the bottom while baking.

Mix the yogurt and baking soda and keep aside.

Whisk together the oil and sugar. Add the milk-cocoa-coffee mix. Mix well. Now gently fold in the flour. Add the yogurt and mix.

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius. Pour the batter into square cases. Garnish with few slivered almonds.  Bake for 25- 30 minutes.

Banana Pineapple Muffins

Banana Pineapple Muffins

Fruits and cakes always go together. Moreover they are an excellent way to sneak in some healthy fruits into your child’s food. 

Bananas are a very temperamental batch. Leave them on the counter for 2-3 days and they start going black. Though it has been proved that the blacker the bananas the healthier they are.

 Bananas have anti oxidants that help fight cancer cells. And the spottier they are the more anti cancer properties they have. But I bet you can’t make a kid eat black, spotty bananas. No way!! Mine wont touch a banana if it has a single spot or is slightly mushy.

These Banana Pineapple Muffins are absolutely delish!! Adding fruits make it softer and tastier too. I have added raisins. You can add walnuts or almonds to make them healthier.

 Though you use fresh bananas yet it is never advisable to use fresh pineapples in desserts. Pineapples have an enzyme called Bromelain that gives it a slightly bitter taste when you cook them.

Ingredients

1 ½ cups flour

1 cup sugar

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

½ tsp cinnamon powder

½ cup raisins/nuts

2 eggs

¾ cup oil

2 ripe bananas, mashed

1 cup pineapple, pureed ( Always use tinned pineapple in desserts)

Mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and sugar. 

Blend together oil and eggs. Add the mashed bananas and crushed pineapples. 

Now fold in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius. Pour the batter into muffin cases.

 Bake for 20-25 minutes at 170 degrees.

 Check with a toothpick to see if they are done. 

Stuffed Savoury Chelsea Buns

Stuffed Savoury Chelsea Buns

The Chelsea bun is a type of sweet currant bun. It is flavoured with lemon peel, cinnamon or mixed spice. The dough is rolled out into a spiral. So though this is called a bun yet it is more like a baked swiss roll.

Stuffed Savoury Chelsea Buns are an adaptation of the sweet Chelsea Buns.

The stuffing can be of your choice. You can make a paneer stuffing with salsa sauce, a corn and peas stuffing, shredded chicken, bacon..the choice is endless. I had a roll of salami lying at home and so I decided to make a salami and onion stuffing flavoured with rosemary.

Ingredients

3 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp oil

½ cup  water+ ½  cup milk

2 tbsp yeast

Stuffing

1 cup sliced salami/paneer

1 onion, sliced

1 tsp garlic, chopped

1 tsp rosemary

Salt to taste

½ tsp black pepper powder

2 tbsp softened butter

Warm the water and milk mix slightly. Add the yeast and put aside to proof.

Sift together flour, salt and sugar. Mix in the oil. Add the yeast mix and knead into a dough. Knead the dough well for about 10 minutes. The more you knead the softer the buns will be.

Apply oil and place the dough in a large bowl. Cover with a cling film and leave to double. This will take 3-4 hours.

Meanwhile prepare the filling. Heat some oil. Add the chopped garlic and sliced onions. Saute for 2-3 minutes. Add the sliced salami/paneer. Season with salt, black pepper powder and rosemary.

Once the dough has doubled you are ready to make the buns. Dust your working surface with some flour.

 Turn over the dough on the surface. Punch it down. Divide the dough into two portions. Roll out one portion into a rough rectangle. Brush it with melted butter. 

Put half the filling lengthwise .

 Roll up the dough like a Swiss roll. 

Seal the edges with water. Slice the roll into 9 pieces. 

Place in a greased bowl. 

Cover and keep for half an hour till the slices double. Apply an egg wash or a milk wash on the buns.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Bake the buns about 40 minutes.