Chicken noodle soup, The Classic style

The snow c laded land , constant low temperature ,Kind of relaxed mood and old sad song in the background,  What do you prefer to have in this situation. I definitely enjoy hot chicken noodle soup , that do make your senses and belly happy while helping you to carry on your classic way of celebrating cold.

No doubt, Its chicken soup for the soul. I say so  because its simple, no complication. Its just chicken , noodles and veggies cooked in a clear soup. Enjoy your cold wintry days with this recipe.

Preparation time :10 mins

Cooking time: 45 mins

Serves- 4    

The classic chicken Noodle soup

Ingredients:

• Chicken - 500 gms, boiled and chopped, or the leftovers will also do.
• Carrots- 4 chopped
• Onion- 1 chopped
• celery- 4 sticks chopped
• Egg Noodles- 400 gms
• Pepper- freshly crushed
• Salt as per taste
• Oil for cooking
• Vegetable bullion
• Chicken stock - 700 Ml

Preparation:

• If you do not have boiled chicken , boil it by adding the chicken in 1Ltr of water. Add salt while boiling. Strain the chicken stock and reserve it once chicken gets cooked. Let the chicken cool of , then chop it.
• Heat oil in a soup pot.
• Add in the onion , celery, carrot. Saute until they are soft , add salt to this.
• Add  the chicken stock or vegetable stock, boil. Add the vegetable bullion or any other bullion cube of your choice.
• Add the egg noodles once the vegetable stock is hot . Cook Noodle until it is la dent...cooked.
• Add in the chopped chicken pieces, season with pepper and simmer for 2 minutes. 

Your chicken Noodle soup is ready to be served, serve it hot.  Enjoy Winter :-)

By-Sushmita Pandit

Shrikhand Delight, The 2 Minute Recipe

Shrikhand delight, a delicacy of Maharastra(India) is an eye soothing and mouth watering Dish. This sweet dish is prepared by incorporating so many dry fruits. Its my husband's favorite dessert. The recipe that am demonstrating here is a very simple one. You can always customize this recipe the way you wish.

Preparation- 5 minutes

Serves- 2

Shrikhand

Ingredients:

                                    

• Hung Curd/ Strained yogurt- 250 gms . The one i used is the Ready made hung curd called as speise quark (Readily available in Germany).

• Cardamom- 1 Tsp, Crushed
• Sugar- 2 Tbsp
• Saffron strings- 1/2 Tsp
• Water- 1 Tbsp 
• Cashewnuts - 8 nuts, chopped.

Preparation:

• Hung curd or strained yogurt are easily available in the market these days. In case you wish to prepare it at home, you can simply strain the curd over a muslin curd, and leave it overnight to thicken under refrigeration .
• To the hung curd, add the sugar , crushed Cardamom and give it a gentle blend with a spoon.

• Now add the saffron string to the water, and you can gently crush this in a mortar.

• Add the crushed saffron along with the water to the curd. Mix well .

• For garnishing you can add cashew nuts to this or any dry fruit of your choice.

The Shrikhand delight is ready to be served, serve it cold or mild cold, it tastes awesome anyways.

Enjoy and keep cooking :)

By- Sushmita Pandit

Tortellini Salad

There are times when i have little patience to cook a dish that takes a long time. That's when i look for easy to cook, healthy and filling meals.

Today i just opened my cupboard and found a packet of tortellini. That's when i decided of making a quick tortellini salad. Being a tortellini fan i would use it here and there every now and then.

I would also like to share my experience from the time i included salad in my daily diet, i have been benefited a lot health wise . Here's sharing you the healthy recipe, Hope you like it.

Preparation- 10 minutes

Cooking - 8 minutes.

Serves- 4

Tortellini Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

• Carrot- 4 , large in size , Washed peeled and chopped.
• Tomato- 4, Medium in size, cut into cubes.
• Lettuce leaves- Washed , Dried with kitchen towel, and gently tore with hand into small chunks.
• Corn - 1/2 cup boiled and salted.
• Lime juice- 2 Tbsp
• Tofu- 100 gms, cut into cubes
• Tortellini Pasta- 250 gms.
• Pepper cons- Freshly crushed
• Salt as per taste.
• Butter- 1 Tbsp.
• Olive oil

Preparation:

• Boil 1 liters of water, by adding salt to it. Once the water gets boiled, add the tortellini to it and cook it for 8 minutes. After 8 minutes turn off the heat and drain the water. Transfer the tortellini in a large bowl. Add 1 tbsp of butter to it and simply toss it.
• In the same bowl bring together all the other ingredients, mix well by adding lime juice and olive oil.
• Season with salt and pepper.

Your quick and healthy tortellini salad is now ready to be served.

if you want to eat them cold you can cover it and refrigerate it . This way tortellini absorbs all the flavors of lime and pepper and make our salad more mouth watering.

Enjoy and Happy cooking.

By-Sushmita Pandit.

Gobi-Matar-Aloo Ki Sabzi

when you want a quick spicy sabzi in just no time, nothing can be more relishing than Gobi matar aloo ki sabzi . In India during winter Gobi or the cauliflower is widely used in making several varieties of dishes, Namely Sabzi's(vegetable currys) , Parotha's(stuffed flattened breads), Achar(Pickle) and also Bhajiya's(dumplings). My dad would always buy this bio cauliflowers fresh from the local farmers .My mummy would prepare this mouth watering tasty subzi every now and then it was always perfect with rice or chapati. I thought it would be really helpful for the beginners to post this Sabzi recipe, Enjoy.

Preparation- 15 mins
Cooking time- 20 mins
Serves- 4

Ingredients:

• Cauliflower florets- 5 to 8 medium size, cut into halves
• Potato- 2 medium size(boiled)
• Chilly- 1 or 2
• Onion- 1 medium ,sliced
• Paanch foren- 1 tsp (Right click, select new tab)
• Cinnamon stick 
• Oil for cooking
• Masala's (Turmeric powder- 1 tsp, cumin powder- 1 tbsp, coriander powder- 2 tbsp, pepper powder-1 tsp)
• Tomato- 1 chopped
• Peas- 1/2 cup
• Fresh coriander leaves
• Salt as per taste.

Preparation:  

• Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a kadai
• Add the cinnamon stick to flavour the oil.
• Add the panch foren and green chilly, let them crackle .
• Add the onion and saute until onions are soft.
• Add the florets, and season with salt. Cover the kadai and wait for 1/2 min.
• Stir well and prepare the masala paste.
• Mix all the masala powder and add the tomato to it. Adjust the consistency of the paste by adding water.
• While florets are still tender , add the masala paste and fry until the oil separetes from the masala.
• At this point add the boiled potatoes and salt seasoning the potatoes.
• Add the peas too.
• Add 300 ml of water and let the subzi simmer for 3-4 minutes in low heat.
• Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves.

Your Gobi-matar-aloo ki sabzi is ready to be served. Serve it hot with rice, nan ,chapati or bread.

Enjoy and happy cooking. :)

  

Vegetable Manchurian

Vegetable Manchurian is one of my favorite dish. This Chinese dish has come a long way to the streets of India is one of the highly famous and most liked fast food in India.

I remember having it every now and then in my college canteen during my college days. Its basically vegetables mixed and then fried into balls which are later cooked in the sauce.

Preparation time- 30 mins

Cooking time - 30 mins

serves- 4

Ingredients:

• Vegetables (2 carrot- grated, 5 florets of cauliflower- half boiled and mashed, 2 florets of Broccoli- half boiled and mashed, 1 Cabbage- small in size , grated  )
• Green Chilies- 2
• Ginger-1 Tbsp, Minced
• Garlic- 1 Tbsp, Minced
• Salt as per taste
• Cooked rice- 1 Tbsp(Optional)
• Corn flour- 4 Tbsp
• All purpose flour- 5 Tbsp
• Soy sauce.
• Oil- for frying

Ingredients for sauce:

• Oil- 2 Tbsp
• Onion- 2 medium size, chopped
• Ginger and garlic- 2Tbsp, minced
• Bell pepper- 1, chopped into cubes
• Soy sauce
• Tomato Sauce
• Chilli sauce
• Salt as per taste
• Oyster Sauce
• Water- 200 ml
• Corn flour-2 TSP
• Pepper- 1 Tbsp, crushed

Preparation:

• Mix all the vegetable in a bowl, add salt, ginger garlic, chilly, corn flour and, soy sauce . Start adding all purpose flour to make a moist dough like consistency of the mixture.
• Prepare balls out of this mixture.
• Deep fry the balls in the oil, until golden brown in colour.

Sauce Preparation

• Heat oil in a wok.
• Add onions and saute until they are soft
• Add garlic and ginger saute until you can sense the aroma of ginger and garlic.
• Add the bell pepper and salt, fry until they are just tender
• Bring together all the sauces and add little water to prepare a fine solution of sauce
• Add this solution to the wok.
• Bring it to boil
• Prepare a solution by adding 2 Tbsp of corn flour in 120 ml of water.
• Add this to the wok. Just after adding this the gravy will thicken. You can adjust the consistency of gravy by adding little more water.
• Turn off the heat.

Your Vegetable Manchurian is ready to be served. serve it hot with Basmati rice.

Garnish this dish with freshly chopped Coriander leaves.

Thank you for reading my recipe. Happy cooking. 

Chapati

Many of my friends asked me for how to make chapati. Since it goes extremly well with all curry's  its good to know how to prepare them. Here is the recipe.

Preparation -5 mins
cooking time- 10 mins
Serves- 5 chapatis medium size

Ingredients:
Whole wheat fine flour- 2 Cups
Water- 1/2 cup or little more
Salt- 1/2 Tsp
Ghee- 1 Tbsp

Preparation:

• Mix flour salt and ghee in a mixing bowl, gradually add water and knead a fine, slightly soft dough.(Adjust the amount of water as per required)
• Make logs out of the dough.
• Cut the logs into  1inch balls.
• Dust this ball with flour.
• Flatten the balls with the help of pin-roll.
• Heat tawa in medium heat . Place the chapati over the heated tawa.
• Wait for 10 seconds. Flip on the other side.
• Wait for another 10 seconds and flip it back.
• Press the chapati from the edge of one side until it puffs up with the help of spatula or dry cotton cloth. Flip and do the same on the other side. By this time your chapati must get cooked evenly.
• Take it off the pan and grease it with butter.

Chapati is ready to be served. 

• Repeat the process with other balls until you get desired no of chapati's.

Serve it hot with any curry. Enjoy :-) and Happy cooking.

Tip: Leftover dough can be kept in refrigerator in an airtight box and can be consumed until next day.

For the Prawn curry:http://wahsushkitchen.blogspot.de/2013/01/prawn-curry.html

By-Sushmita Pandit

Palak Paneer(Spinach and cottage cheese curry)

Palak paneer is an authentic Indian cuisine. It has got all the goodness of Spinach and cheese. 

It had been a month since i started craving for the palak paneer. Its great with chapati and nan.

In Germany we get frozen spinach as "spinat gemuse".  I really like them, its so easy to cook with the frozen cubes. But fresh spinach are always better and healthy. 

Here's is my version of Palak paneer.

Preparation Time- 15 mins

Cooking time- 30 Mins

Serves- 4

Ingredients:

• Spinach leaves/ frozen spinach- 500 gms
• Paneer- 250 gms
• Green Chilly- as per taste
• Onion- 1 large, finely chopped
• Ginger garlic paste- 1 Tbsp
• Tomato -1 finelly chopped or pureed
• Cream- 2Tbsp
• Salt as per taste
• Water for cooking
• Oil for cooking
• Butter- 1 Tbsp
• Cinnamon sticks or cinnamon powder

Masalas/Spices

1. Turmeric powder- 1Tsp
2. Cumin powder- 2 Tsp
3. Coriander powder- 1.5 Tbsp
4. Pepper Powder- 1Tsp
5. Pesto- 1 Tbsp(optional)

Mix all the masala and prepare a fine paste by adding water to it or with the help of tomato puree.

Preparation:

• If you have whole spinach leaves- Wash them and boil them in water by adding little salt to it for 10 mins. Once boiled let it cool off a little and then in a blender , prepare its puree. If you have frozen cubes of spinach that is all fine.
• Heat 3 Tbsp of oil in a pan or kadai,  add cinnamon powder or stick, let the oil absorb the flavour. 
• Add the onion,salt for the onion and green chillies, saute until onions are golden brown.
• Add ginger garlic paste and saute for 2 mins.
• Add the masala paste and the remaining tomato puree, fry until oil separates from the masala.
• (optional- add pesto and fry for 1 minute. )
• At this point of time add the pureed spinach or frozen cubes of spinach, add little water, let it simmer in low heat for 2 mins. 
• By the time simmering happens, cut the paneer into cubes, heat butter in a pan and fry the paneer cubes until they get coated with light golden brown crust. season with salt.
• Once done add the fried paneer in the spinach. stir well and turn off the heat.
• Drizzle the cream over the curry.

Palak paneer is ready to be served. Serve it hot with Nan, Chapati or parotha.

Enjoy. :-) and Happy cooking.

How to make paneer????? checkout http://wahsushkitchen.blogspot.in/2012/09/paneercottage-cheese-how-to-prepare.html

By: Sushmita Pandit

Adrak and Masala chai(Ginger Masala Mix Chai)

Chai is Refreshing and stress releasing. In the morning it gives me a kickstart on the otherside in the evening , a cup of chai do wonders releasing my all day long stress. Necessary to mention, Chai has several types "mamuli chai", "chalu chai", "masala chai", "herbal chai", "darjeeling tea", "green tea","Cough reliving Kada"and "The ghar wali adrak ki chai(Ginger Tea)".

In general at our home we prepare the "The ghar wali adrak ki chai(Ginger Tea)". Whilst at the kiosk we can find the very tasty"chalu chai",Hotels and resturant specializes in "Masala tea", Grandma and kids would always prefer the "herbal tea", And during cold and cough it becomes a medicine which we call kada(greatly helps in reliving cough ) .

This is my version of Ginger and masala Chai.

cooking time 5 minutes

Serves- 2 tea cups

Ingredients:

• Water- 150 ml
• Milk - 120 ml
• Ginger- 1 inch(crushed or minced) or Dry Ginger powder- 1 Tsp
• Basil leaves- 3-4 leaves or Dry basil leaves- 1Tsp
• Pepper cons- Freshly crushed(1/2 Tsp)
• Chai patti(Tea leaves)- 1 Tbsp[Red label, Tata tea or any other brand will do]
• Sugar- 1Tbsp or adjust to your taste

Preparation:

• Heat water in a saucepan.
• Add sugar, chai patti, ginger, pepper and basil leaves at medium heat.
• Bring it to boil. 
• Once the colour becomes dark red add the milk.
• Bring it to boil twice or thrice for the perfect taste.(Keep an eye on your chai, since once it comes to boil , there are good chances that it may spill off the pan)
• Turn off the heat once done. let the chai rest for 10 seconds
• Use a seive to filter out the chai in a cup, and serve it hot.

Enjoy your cup of tea. Thank you for reading. 

Happy cooking :-)

By: Sushmita Pandit

Til K Ladoo (Sesame Sweet savory)

Wishing everyone a very Happy and prosperous Makarsankranti and Happy Lohri. 14th of January in India is a day where whole India celebrates sankranti in inumerable ways. In Punjab people celebrate Lohri, in east India as makar sankranti , in south India as pongal and in Gujrat the whole sky is filled with kites :-).
On this very day people do eat varity of dishes made with the Sesame seed. One of the most popular dish is the Til k ladoo. In this post i will be detailing the recipe. Its sweet and mouth watering dish.

Ingredients:

• Sesame seed - 200gms
• Jaggery - 125gms
• Water- 90 ml

Preparation:

• Roast the sesame seed until they turn crispy and light brown in color.
• Once roasted cool them off.
• Heat one kadai, switch to medium flame, add water and jaggery.

• Keep on stirring until the jaggery melts and a syrup kind of solution appears.
• To check weather right consistency of syrup is achieved or not , we can do a water test. Take water in a bowl. To this add one drop of syrup with the help of spatula. if it spreads in water we have to wait for little more. Once the drops settles at the bottom, rub it between your fingers if u find it sticky and also string like ....that's it ... u have reached to the right consistency of syrup.

•  Immediately turn off the heat or take the kadai off the heat. Add the roasted sesame seed. mix well.
• Now grease your palms with water and make small rolls while the mixture is still warm or little more than warm. Be careful dont burn your hand.

voila! Ladoo is ready to be served :-)

Let the balls cool off. store them in an airtight jar or box. This will last for atleast a month.

Happy cooking and wishing everyone a very happy and prosperous Makarsankranti :-)

Lukin forward to take a dip in the Rhine...only if it is not Frozen :D

By: Sushmita Pandit

Aloo Sarson-Posta(Potato mustard&poppyseed curry)

It had been nearly more than six months since i had tasted poppy seeds. It was only in this Christmas time that i could get some of it at cheaper price at an Indian store in Brussels. So i grabbed a few packets just to make my traditional Aloo posta . The best thing about this dish is that you do not need many ingredients and its just too quick and fast in preparation. However i customized this dish by adding some mustard to it as i love the taste of mustard too. Some like it with purely poppy seed paste while others just like me incorporate almond and cashew nuts too.

This recipe serves four
Preparation & Cooking time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:

• Potatoes - 4 Large sized, sliced into 1/2 inches
• Onion -1 medium size ,sliced thinly
• Chilly- 1 chopped
• (optional)Paanch Foren(mixture of Fenugreek seed, cumin seed, mustard seed,fennel seed ,kalongi seeds ) 1 tsp each, mix them well and keep it in a closed container for future use.
• Turmeric powder- 1 tsp
• Pepper powder- 1 tsp
• Salt as per taste
• oil for cooking
• Paste- (Add 1 tbsp poppy seeds+1 tbsp crushed almonds + 3/4tbsp mustard+ green chilly 1 in a grinder jar. Add little water and then grind to make a consistent paste)
• water for cooking

Preparation:

• Heat oil in a kadai or pan
• Add 1 tsp of Paanch foren, allow it to crackle
• Now add green chillies and sliced onion, fry until onion turns tender
• Add the sliced potatoes
• Add salt ,stir and cover, wait until potatoes are half cooked
• Now add turmeric powder and pepper powder
• cook until turmeric gets fried.
• At this point add the paste, Add water to adjust the consistency of the gravy and then stir.
• Simmer in low heat for 5 mins.
• Turn off the heat once you see gravy of desired consistency .

The Aloo sarson-posta is now ready to be served. Serve it hot with hot rice or chapati.

Enjoy and Happy Cooking :-)

By: Sushmita Pandit