Chocolate Almond Delight

Ingredients

• butter - 200gms
• castor sugar - 150gms
• eggs - 4
• plain flour - 120gms
• baking powder - 1 tsp
• ground almonds - 30gms
• cooking chocolate - 100gms

Lets Get Cracking

1. Cream butter & sugar together. Add in egg yolks. Whisk egg whites until smooth. Fold in sieved flour, ground almonds, egg whites and melted cooking chocolate.
2. Bake in a loaf tin at 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 180 degrees Celsius for about 30 minutes.
3. For the topping, melt 200gms cooking chocolate over hot water and pour the onto cake. Decorate with almond flakes and cherries.

  Enjoy :) :) :)

Veg Cutlets

 Ingredients

• 250 gms Boiled Potatoes
• 2 Green Chilies
• 1/2 cup Shelled Peas
• 1 Carrot ( grated)
• 2 tsp Fresh Anaar (shelled)
• 1 Boiled Beetroot ( grated)
• 1 tsp Coriander leaves (chopped)
• 1 pinch Garam Masala Powder
• 2 tsp Onion (finely chopped)
• 1/4 tsp Red Chilly Powder
• Oil for frying
• 4 Bread Slices
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp Semolina
• Chat Masala to taste

Time Required - 25 mins

Lets Get Cracking

1. Peel and mesh the potatoes along with the bread slices and keep aside.
2. Grind the peas along with the ginger and green chillies.
3. Mix ground peas , grated carrot & beet root , and shelled annar ( Pomegranate ) with meshed potatoes.
4. Add all masala such as salt, chat powder, red chilli powder, garam masala in above mixture.
5. Divide the mixture into equal parts and shape them into cutlets.
6. Cover the cutlets with semolina powder.
7. Deep fry in the heated oil in a pan./ kadahi.
8. Serve with green chutney and tomato sauce. 

Enjoy :) :) :)

Dahi Vada

Ingredients

For Vada: 

• Green grams dhal (moong dhal split) – 200 gms
• Plain yogurt – 250 gms
• Red chili powder – 1 tsp
• Green chili paste – 2-3   
• Cumin seeds powder – 2 tbsp
• Salt – as required   
• Cilantro leaves – ¼ cup
• Oil for frying

For Chutney:

• Dates-500 gms 
• Salt-as required 
• Red Chillie Powder-1 tsp  

Time Required - 20-25 mins

Lets Get Cracking

For Chutney:

1. Remove the seeds from date.
2. Then put date and little water in a pot.
3. Grind it for 2 minutes till the chutney becomes soft.
4. Then add little chili powder to it.

For Vada:

1. Soak green grams for 3-4 hours.
2. Wash and remove the green skin.
3. Grind it on the stone to make soft vada.
4. Add salt and green chili paste, mix well and fry vadas in oil.
5. Do not keep the batter, for longer time. Prepare at once.
6. After frying put this vadas in luke – warm water.
7. Squeeze out water and arrange vadas in a plate.
8. Spread plain yogurt, date chutney, salt, red chili powder, cumin seeds on the vada.
9. Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve. 

Chill it for a while and enjoy :) :) :)

Rajma (Kidney beans) Curry

Ingredients

• 1 cup Kidney beans (or use canned to make it even quicker)
• 1 onion, finely chopped (I used Red onions)
• 2-3 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tsp fennel seeds (or use cumin)
• about 1 inch ginger, peeled and grated
• 1-2 green chillies thinly sliced (or as per taste)
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp cumin-coriander powder
• 1 tbsp amchur powder (dry mango powder) (or use lemon juice)
• salt to taste
• cilantro and finely chopped onions for garnish
• For the spice bag
• 3-4 cloves
• 2-3 whole green cardamoms
• 1 inch cinnamon stick
• 1 bay leaf
• 4-5 black pepper

Time Required - 40-45 mins

Lets Get Cracking

1. Soak the kidney beans overnight. Of course you can use store bought canned beans. Make sure to drain them well and rinse in cold water before using them.

2. Before cooking the kidney beans, make a spice bag by packing the spices in the "spice bag" section of the ingredients list in a cheesecloth, tie it up and drop it in the water along with kidney beans.

3. Once cooked, removed the spice bag and discard. I use Pressure Cooker and it takes about 10-12 minutes for it cook. While that's cooking I prepare the gravy. You can finish the complete dish within 15-20 minutes.

4. Meanwhile in a skillet, add 1 tsp of oil (for the traditional Punjab richness, add Ghee instead), saute the fennel seeds, onions, chilli and ginger along with little salt.

5. Once soft add the spice powders and saute for few more seconds.

6. Add the tomatoes.

7. Add little water and Cook until tomatoes are soft.

8. Add the kidney beans along with cooking water.

9. Cook for another 2-3 minutes. Taste and season if needed. You can add more water depending on the consistency you like. Break down some of the kidney beans to thicken the gravy.

        
         The traditional way is to enjoy it with plain rice. You can also serve it along with chapathi, roti, naan or any pulav if desired. I like to garnish it with finely chopped red onions and cilantro.