Oreo Truffle

Ingredients:

• Oreo cookies                           - 25 pieces
• PHILADELPHIA Cream cheese   - 1 packet(8 Ounce) 
• Semi sweet chocolate chips     - 8 Ounce

Method:
1. Put the Oreo cookies in a food processor and crush to fine crumbs.
2. In a mixing bowl take the crumbs and add 3/4th of cream cheese. Mix well till well blended.

3. Scoop out about 1 Tbsp mix at a time, form a ball, flatten it, stuff cheese cream and close it. Roll it in your palm to form a nice shaped ball.
4. Put them in freezer for 15-20 minutes.

5. Set a wax paper over a plate and keep aside.
6. Melt chocolate chips in a bowl. Dip the truffles in melted chocolate and with the help of forks lift and allow the excess chocolate to drip. Place them in the wax paper.

7. Refrigerate for an hour till they get firm.

Chicken keema chop(croquettes)

Chop or croquette is one of the hot favorites of Bongs. There are various kinds of it, fish chop, mutton chop, chicken chop, aloor chop and what not chop. I tried this out at home the other night, it was so good that we ended up having just these yummy chops for dinner. I did bring my twist and stuffed few of the chops with cheese and the aberration was really well appreciated.

Ingredients:

• Chicken breast               - 1 piece, around ½ lb, finely chopped. (you can use keema, but I used whole piece)
• Potato                           - 2 medium sized, boiled
• Onion                            - 1 large, finely chopped
• Turmeric powder           - ½ tsp
• Red Chilli powder          - 1 tsp(Adjust according to your level)
• Cumin powder               - 1 tsp
• Coriander powder          - ½ tsp
• Garam masala powder    - ½ tsp
• Ginger paste                  - 1 tsp 
• Garlic paste                   - ½ tsp
• Eggs                              - 2
• Corn flour                      - 2 Tbsp
• Bread crumbs                 - ½ cup
• Oil                                 - for deep frying

Method:

1. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a pan and add the chopped onions.

2. When onion turns translucent add ginger paste, garlic paste, red chilli, turmeric, cumin and coriander powder. Cook for a minute.

3. Add chopped chicken. Mix well and cook till chicken is cooked.

4. Add salt, garam masala and mix well. Remove chicken from pan and allow it to cool.

5. Put the chicken mix in blender and blend it till it becomes crumbly in texture, not really a paste.

6. Mash the boiled potatoes. Mix potato with chicken and mix well. 
7. Divide the mix into small equal sized oblong balls(chop).
(I did a twist in few of them and stuffed shredded mozzarella cheese, which turned out pretty good)
8. Take a bowl and break in the eggs. Add 1 Tbsp water into it and beat it using a fork to form a smooth thin mix. Take corn flour and bread crumbs in two other plates.
9. Roll the chops in corn flour to get a slight coating, then dip in egg mix and then roll in bread crumbs to get an even coating.
10. Refrigerate the chops for an hour.

11. Heat oil for deep frying.
12. Add the chops one by one or multiple at once and fry them till golden brown.

13. Remove from oil and place in kitchen towel to get rid of extra oil.

Serve hot chop with onions, ketchup and mustard sauce.

Chingir borar daalna - Shrimp kofta curry

Ingredients:

• Chingrir bora(Shrimp pakora)    - 8-10(See recipe of Chingrir bora)
• Onion                                       - 1 large, finely chopped
• Tomato                                    - 1 medium, finely chopped
• Green chilli                              - 4-5, chopped
• Ginger paste                            - 1 tsp
• Garlic paste                             - 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder                     - ½ tsp
• Red chilli powder                     - 1 tsp
• Cumin powder                          - 1 tsp
• Coriander powder                     - 1 tsp
• Yogurt                                      - 2 Tbsp
• Garam Masala powder               - ½ tsp
• Salt                                          - to taste
• Oil                                           - 1 Tbsp

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan.

2. When hot add chopped onion and green chilli and cook till onion becomes translucent.

3. Add chopped tomatoes and cook till tomatoes become mushy.

4. Add ginger paste, garlic paste, turmeric, red chilli, cumin, coriander powder and mix well. Cook till raw smell of masalas go away.

5. Add yogurt and mix well. Cook for another minute.

6. Add 1 cup water and cover and cook till the gravy simmers.

7. Remove the lid, add salt and garam masala. Mix well. Add the chingrir bora.

8. Cover and cook for another few minutes till the gravy becomes thick.

Serve hot with rice or roti.

Chingrir bora - Shrimp pakora

I got this awesome recipe from Bongmom's Cookbook. It was worth taking this risk with the shrimps. I usually don't like experimenting with shrimps for some reason, probably because they are my favorites. Anyways, I did not end the recipe with the bora(pakora). I made a curry with half of these boras and named it chingrir borar daalna. I will post the recipe later. For now enjoy these hot shrimp boras.

Ingredients:

• Shrimps                - 10-12, medium
• Red Masoor daal   - 1/3rd cup
• Onion                   - 1 medium, finely chopped
• Green chilli          - 3-4, finely chopped
• Salt                      - to taste
• Oil                       - for frying

Method:
1. Soak masoor daal in a cup of water for half an hour.
2. Chop the shrimps into small pieces.
3. Put daal and shrimp in a blender and make a smooth paste.
4. To the paste add chopped onion, chopped green chilli and salt. Mix well.

5. Heat oil in a pan. When hot, using a table spoon add small scoops of mix in the oil.
6. Fry in medium heat for a minute. Flip the side gently and fry the other side. Fry till both the sides turn golden brown.

7. Remove from pan and place on paper towel to get rid of the extra oil.

8. The tasty yummy shrimp pakora is ready to serve. Serve with chutney or sauce.

Bhapa doi - Steamed yogurt - A Bengali delicacy

Bhapa is steamed in Bengali and doi is curd. This steamed yogurt in an authentic Bengali dessert made of plain milk, condensed milk and yogurt. This is an absolute treat to your taste buds and sweet lovers will go gaga over this. A thick creamy dessert to make your summer day an absolute bliss.

Ingredients:

• Greek yogurt/hung curd  - 1 cup
• Condensed milk              - 1 can, (around 400 grams
• Whole milk                     - 1 cup
• Raisins                            - 15-20
• Pistachios                       - 8-10, chopped for garnishing

Method:

1. In a mixing bowl add the yogurt, milk and condensed milk. Whisk them into a smooth mix.

2. Pour the mix into a baking dish(bowl). Add raisins.

3. In a large baking tray add water and place the baking dish on it. The baking dish should be half immersed(or a little more) in water.

4. Preheat oven at 350 degree F. Check Notes if no oven.

5. Place the baking tray in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes till the yogurt mix sets. (To check if it is set properly insert a toothpick and take out. The toothpick should come out clean)

6. Take out of oven and allow it to cool. Then refrigerate it for 4-6 hours.

7. Garnish with pistachios and serve chilled.

Notes: If no oven, you can use a pressure cooker. Place the bowl in pressure cooker, half immersed in water. Cook for 40-45 minutes without whistle. 

Aloo Gobi

This is a simple dish of potato and cauliflower and tastes really good with roti or with daal and rice. A friend of mine at work likes it so much, whenever I get this for lunch he just snatches my lunch box and makes me eat his. I remember once I took double the amount to make sure we both can have it but the outcome was same, I ended up eating his lunch and he ate it all and all by himself.

Ingredients:

• Cauliflower/fulgobi      - 1 medium sized, Cut into medium sized florets
• Potato                         - 2 medium sized, cut into medium sized cubes
• Green chilli                  - 5, chopped
• Coriander leaves           - 2 Tbsp, finely chopped
• Cumin(jeera)                - 1 tsp
• Bay leaves                    - 2
• Cumin powder              - 2 tsp
• Red chili powder           - 1 tsp(adjust according to your taste)
• Turmeric powder           - ½ tsp
• Garam masala powder   - ½ tsp(cinnamon, cardamom and cloves)
• Oil                                - 1 Tbsp
• Salt                              - As per taste

Method:
1. Heat oil in a pan.
2. When hot add whole jeera and bay leaves. 
3. When jeera starts spluttering add green chilli, cauliflower and potato.

4. Add turmeric powder and mix well. Keep cooking in medium heat till vegetables turn brownish.
5. Add chili powder, cumin powder, salt. Mix well and cover with a lid and cook till vegetables are cooked.
6. Sprinkle garam masala. 
7. Add chopped coriander leaves.
8. Cook for another minute and then remove from stove.

9. Serve hot with roti or daal rice.

Potato and Cheese stuffed Chicken

I saw this recipe in some site and really found it interesting. The recipe had only cheese in stuffing but I tried it with cheese as well as potato. Next time I would try it with more stuffing like mushroom and shrimp. But till then here is the recipe which made my Friday evening a happening one.

Ingredients:

• Chicken breasts            - 2, skinless, boneless
• Potato                          - 1 medium sized, long thin sliced
• Parmesan cheese          - 2 Tbsp, shredded
• Mozzarella cheese         - 5 Tbsp, shredded
• Tomato sauce               - 1 cup
• Sriracha hot chili sauce - 1 Tbsp
• All purpose flour           - half cup
• Eggs                             - 2
• Bread crumbs               - half cup
• Chilli flakes                  - As per taste
• Salt                              - As per taste
• Oil                               - 4 Tbsp

Method:

1. Pat the chicken breasts dry with kitchen towel.

2. With a sharp knife cut pockets into the chicken breasts.

3. Rub salt to all the open surfaces of chicken(you can also apply some chilli powder if you want to make it hot)

4. Mix salt into potato and place inside the chicken pockets. Keep some for later use.(To get a better result, sauté the potato before adding it in this step)
5. Put some sriracha sauce.(Or any hot sauce)

 6. Add 2 Tbsp of mozzarella cheese in each pocket.

7. Seal the edges of the pockets by pressing with your fingers.
8. Beat the eggs in a bowl. Take flour and bread crumps in separate bowls.
9. Dip the stuffed chicken into flour and shake off the excess.

10. Dip the floured chicken into egg and then into bread crumbs coating it evenly.
11. Heat oil in a pan. When hot add the chicken pieces. Fry in medium heat till brownish from both the sides. Take care that the stuffing do not come out while frying them.

12. Remove chicken pieces from pan.

13. In a baking tray spread tomato sauce and the remaining potato pieces.
14. Place the chicken on top.
15. Sprinkle parmesan cheese and the remaining mozzarella cheese on top.

16. Preheat the oven at 350°F.
17. Put the baking tray in oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. A little longer for a little crispier.
18. Remove from oven and serve with sides of your choice. I had it with green salad and garlic French toast.

Pineapple sooji halwa/Pineapple sheera - A "mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm" graded Indian dessert

Sooji halwa is a very common Indian dessert.
As a kid plain sooji halwa used to be my regular Sunday breakfast, used to love it, I still do. I remember the first time I tried preparing it way back in college days, it was a real catastrophe. Had no idea of how much of what to be put and how to prepare. But I thought its easy to make, I saw my mom preparing it many times. And then, when I ended the project it was such a disaster! Firstly, I could have fed the whole community with the amount I made and secondly, no human would have ever retained their liking for halwa after having it! Since then I never dared to try that again in my life until few years back and fortunately the second attempt turned out at-least eatable.
This one I prepared yesterday with the twist of accompaniment of pineapple and it really turned delicious! How do I claim that? Well, I have my taste buds too! Moreover, I come to know about the taste of my dishes by looking at the expression my wife gives while tasting it. When she says, "its good" or "its very good" then I know its just "OKAY" in taste. But when she closes her eyes and says "mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm", I know its delicious and lip smacking. That's the reaction I got yesterday! So I claim! :)

Ingredients:

• Semolina/Sooji            – 1 cup
• Pineapple                    - 1½ cup, finely chopped(Get rid of hard portion of the core)
• Ghee                           - 3 Tbsp
• Sugar                           - 1 cup
• Cashew                        - 15, broken into pieces
• Raisin                          - 20-25
• Saffron                        - 10-12 strands
• Cardamom powder       - ½ tsp
• Milk                             - 1 cup
• Water                          - 2½ cups

Method:

1. Take 4 Tbsp warm water in a bowl and soak the saffron strands for 30 mins.

2. Heat 1 tsp ghee in a non-stick pan. When hot add the cashews and raisins and fry them till little brownish in color. Remove from pan and keep aside.

3. Add the remaining ghee in the same pan. Add sooji. Fry in medium heat till sooji becomes little brownish in color and the aroma comes.

(8-10 minutes)

4. Add the finely chopped pineapple.
(Make sure you do get rid of the hard portion of the pineapple from the core. You can alternatively make a puree of the hard portion if you want to use them. I did not use them in my recipe and rather was munching on them while preparing the dish.)

5. Cook for another 4-5 minutes till pineapple gets cooked and becomes tender.
6. Add the fried cashew, raisins and saffron mix. Add water and mix well.
7. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 5 minutes. Give it a good stir in between, once or twice.

8. Add the milk now and mix well and cover and cook for few more minutes.
(I used cold milk)
9. Add essence of your choice(cardamom or vanilla).
10. Add sugar and mix well. After adding sugar the mix will become bit watery. Keep stirring until the halwa dries up a bit.

11. The delicious pineapple halwa is ready to serve. Some people like it hot but I prefer it at room temperature.

Chicken stuffed bread roll

I saw this recipe in Hebbar's Kitchen which used potato in stuffing. I took inspiration from there and tried it with chicken and it really turned out delicious. This Sunday experiment really made my day.

Here is how I did it: 
Ingredients:

• Chicken                       – 1 cup, minced or finely chopped
• Onion                          - 1 medium sized, finely chopped
• Green chili                  - 2-3, finely chopped
• Coriander leaves         - 1 Tbsp chopped
• Ginger                        - 1 tsp finely chopped
• Turmeric powder        - ½ tsp
• Red chili powder         - ½ tsp   
• Jeera powder              - ½ tsp
• Cheese                        - 2 Tbsp, grated. I used parmesan cheese.
• White bread slices       - 7
• Oil                              - deep frying
• Salt                            - as per taste

1. Heat oil in a pan.
2. Add ginger. Add green chili. Fry for a minute.
3. Add onion and keep frying till onion turns translucent.
4. Add chicken. Add salt. Stir well. Cook till chicken is cooked.
5. Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, jeera powder. Mix well and fry for another minute.
6. Add green coriander and remove from stove.

7. Let the chicken mix cool. Add grated cheese.

8. Mix well and mash with hand to form a tight dough. Divide the dough into small equal portions. These portions will be stuffed inside the bread rolls. 

9. Cut the sides of bread slices.

10. Flatten the bread by rolling it using a rolling pin.

11. Brush the edges with water to soften them so that the stuffing gets properly sealed.

12. Place the mix in the flattened bread slice and roll it till end. Seal the ends by pressing with your fingers.

13. Heat oil for deep frying in a deep pan.
14. When oil is hot, place the rolls and fry from both sides till golden brown in color.
15. Remove from oil and place in paper towel to absorb the extra oil.

16. Serve with tomato ketchup and dip of your choice.