Jell-O Smoothie

Ingredients:

8 ounces prepared Jell-O (any flavor)
8 ounces milk
8 ounces sherbet (flavor to match Jell-O flavor)

Method:
Mix in a blender. Top with whipped cream and colored sugar, if desired.

Serves 2.

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Flame puffed up Phulkas

We tried the Phulka the way northies do. It puffed up beautifully. Make chapati dough the way you usually do

wheat flour/pillsbury atta - 1 cup
water - a little more than 3/4 cup
salt to taste.

Make the dough and set aside for 15 mins.

Heat the tava and also keep the other burner on high flame. In case of electric burners, use a wire rack.

Roll the dough into round flat chapatis and put it on the tava. Turn it around after a few minutes. Later transfer the chapati to the other flame or rack. It will puff up beautifully. Use tongs to remove from flame. pour a little butter or ghee on top when still hot.

You will find lot of videos online on phulka making. Sorry couldnt help you with a video as we just moved to another place and things are still in cartons.

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New England Clam Chowder Recipe

This is one of my favourite food.

Ingredients:

• 6 large potatoes, peeled or with skins, cut into medium sized cubes
• 1/2 pound hickory smoked bacon, cut small
• 1 stick (4 ounces) butter
• 1 large onion, chopped small
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 stalks celery, chopped small
• 1 1/2 cups white flour
• 8 cups clam broth with 4 cubes clam bouillon or 2-4 Tbsp clam base
• 2 tsp thyme leaves, ground
• 4 bay leaves, whole
• 1/2 tsp black pepper, ground
• 2 cups clams, steamed, shucked and chopped
• 4 cups heavy cream
• 1/4 cup parsley, minced fine

Directions:

1. In a medium size pot, cook potatoes until crisp tender, not quite done. Drain and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, in a large stock pot, cook bacon until crisp, or if using salt pork, sear on all sides until lightly
3. browned. Remove bacon and/or salt pork and drain on paper towel. Set aside. Drain all but 4 Tbsp bacon drippings, leaving that in the pot.
4. Add butter and let melt. Add onion, garlic and celery and saute in the butter and bacon drippings until cooked through.
5. Stir in flour to make a thick roux.
6. Add clam broth and bouillon 2 cups at a time, stirring continuously until thick and creamy.
7. Add thyme, black pepper and bay leaves being careful not to break the leaves.
8. Cook for 15 minutes until hot and bubbly. Turn heat to low.
9. Add clams, potatoes and bacon or salt pork and simmer for 15 minutes more.
10. Add the heavy cream and parsley and turn off the burner.
11. Ladle into sourdough bread bowls and serve with oyster crackers.
12. Refrigerate leftovers.
13. Serves 15-20. Divide the recipe if you must!

There are many different chowder recipes, each one a little more unique with various spices, broth or vegetables. Use this recipe as a base, then vary it each time to make it your own.

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Golyanchi Aamti from Maharastra

Ingredients:

1 cup Channa Daal soaked for 4-5 hours

1 med. Onion chopped fine

1 inch Ginger

5 cloves Garlic & 4 green Chilies +/- to taste (grind to make a paste)

4 tbsp. Besan

1tbsp Tamarind pulp / 1 small lemon size ball of Tamarind pulp

1 lump jaggery

Salt to taste

Oil (for tempering 2 tbsp)

1/2 tsp Mustard seeds

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

Dash Asafetida

Oil for deep frying

1/4 tsp Turmeric

Few curry leaves

4 cups Water

Method:

Drain the soaked channa daal and grind it with the ginger. Add the fine chopped onion. Add salt and turmeric and 1 tbsp Besan.Mix it well and make small marble sized balls. Heat oil and deep fry the balls to a crisp golden brown.

In a saucepan, heat 2 tbsp oil, add the mustard seeds, after they pop, add cumin seeds, asafetida, turmeric and curry leaves. Add the water to the tempering. Bring this to a rolling boil. In the mean time add some water to the remaining 3 tbsp besan and make a smooth paste. Add this paste to the boiling water, this will make it thick.

Add the tamarind pulp, salt, jaggery and the chilli-garlic paste. Boil for a few mins.

Add the deep fried balls and boil for 2 mins. In about 30 mins. the balls will have soaked well and the daal will be thick.

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Kakra Pitha from Orissa

Ingredients

serves: 4 - 6

2 cups (200 g) 7 oz Semolina (suji)
1 cup (250 g) 8 fl oz Water
1/4 cup (35 g) 1 1/4 oz Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1 Bay leaf (tej patta)
Vegetable oil for deep-frying

Method

1. Heat the water in a pan; add sugar, salt, and bay leaf. Boil till the sugar dissolves.

2. Add semolina gradually and keep stirring. After a couple of minutes as the semolina dries up, remove from heat and keep aside to cool.

3. Now grease your palm with oil and knead the semolina until soft and lump free. Divide the mixture into small balls of 2 cm size. Roll each out into small discs with a rolling pin.

4. Heat the oil in a wok (kadhai); deep-fry the discs till golden. Remove and drain the excess oil on absorbent kitchen towels.

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Dedicated to Amma - Rava Laddoo

This is our favourite sweet that our mom used to make for us both with her busy schedule. She was a doc(OB/GYN). She is not with us anymore. We like to dedicate this recipe to her. In fact, she is the reason for Palates & Palettes(formerly Creationz Unwrapped). She has always been an inspirer.
Ingredients:

Fine semolina - 1 cup
Powdered sugar - 1/2 cup (I used less, you may adjust according to taste)
Cardamom - 1/2 tsp
Broken cashew nuts - 3 tbsp
Raisins - 2 tbsp (optional)
Warm milk - Enough to form a ball
Melted butter/Ghee - 1 tbsp

Method:

Dry roast semolina well. Turn off heat just before it starts to turn slightly brown.
Let cool.

In a dry blender, grind semolina till powdery. It may not turn completely into a powder form, but close enough is good.

Add the powdered sugar, cardamom and blend the dry ingredients well.

Take the mixture in a bowl, add ghee, cashews and raisins.

Adding warm milk one tablespoon at a time, mix everything together. Just when it starts to form a ball, stop adding more milk. Quickly form into balls using the palms of your hands.
Adding too much milk will result in hard laddus. The lesser the better.

Place laddus in a layer on a plate and let cool.

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Malpua from Bihar and Jharkand

Ingredients:

Maida - 2 cup
Milk - 500 ml
Dahi - 4 tbsp
Sugar - 2 cup
Refined oil for frying

Method:

1. Heat the sugar with one cup water in a kadahi to make Chasni (syrup) of "Ek Taar"
consistency. Keep it aside. Boil milk on low fire and continue stirring till milk is
transformed into rabri (condensed milk) of flowing consistency.
2. Mix maida, dahi and rabri together to make a mixture of thick pouring consistency. Leave it
for 2 hours.
3. Heat oil in a flat bottom kadahi.
4. Pour a little mixture at a time with a big round spoon to make puas and shallow fry till
golden brown.
5. Take out puas from the kadahi and place them on an absorbent paper to drain out excess
oil.
6. Dip puas in the syrup till they are fully soaked.
7. Take out puas from the syrup and arrange them in a plate. Put a little rabri on each pua
and decorate with Kaju and Badam cut into flakes.

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Dabeli

Our kids love it.





Ingredients:

Dabeli Masala Powder:

1tbsp of Coriander seeds
1/2 tsp of Cumin Seeds (Jeera)
2 Red chilies
1/2 inch cinnamon Stick
2 cloves

Roast the above ingredients and make it like a powder in a blender. Keep it aside this is used in the filling.

Filling:

2 Potatoes boiled and mashed potatoes
1 small onion chopped finely
1/2tsp of cumin seeds
2tbsp roasted peanuts
Pinch of hing (asafetida powder)
1tsp oil
Little bit butter to roast the buns.
Green Chutney
Tamarind, Date chutney
3 tbsp of pomegranate seeds (Optional)
Sev for garnishing.

Preparation:

Heat a pan. Once the pan is hot add oil, cumin seeds, hing. Once the cumin seeds are turned golden color add chopped onions. Once the onions turned little golden color add the Dabeli Masala. Keep frying the onions in masala for 2 more mts; add the mashed potatoes, chooped coriander and salt. Keep it for 5-6 mts and turn off the heat.

Now take a pav/bun. Cut in a 3/4 so that the filling stays in the bun. Spread 1 tsp of coriander/green chutney, chopped onions, 1tbsp of potato filling/curry, 1tsp of tamarind-date chutney,5-6 peanuts.

Prepare all the buns the way it is explained above. Heat a pan and add little butter and roast the buns in butter for 1-2 mts and turn off the heat. Garnish the buns with Sev and pomegranate seeds.

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Kusli from Madhya Pradesh

Ingredients:

For the covering
1 cup white flour
2 tbsp. ghee

For the stuffing

1 cup sooji (semolina)
1 cup badam (almonds), ground
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup khismish (raisins)
3 tbsp. dried ecoconut, grated
1 tsp. cardamom powder
3-4 tbsp. ghee

Method:

Make a stiff-ish dough from the flour, ghee and water. Roll out small circles.
Separately fry the sooji in the ghee. Add the raisins, badam and cardamom powder. Allow it to cool.
Place a small quantity of the stuffing -- about 3 tsp. -- in the centre of each circle. Fold in half and edge with a fork.
Deep fry on medium heat till pink not red.

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Bengali Fish Curry

Ingredients:

2 tblsp lemon juice2 tbsps.
mustard oil for frying
salt to taste
8 fish fillets8
1 tblsp red chilli powder
4 red chillies whole
salt to taste
1 tsp mustard paste
1 tsp turmeric powder
4 green chillies slit
2 tblsp coriander powder
1 tblsp garlic paste
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 bay leaf
2 cup onions chopped
1 tblsp ginger paste
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp onion seeds (kalonji)

Method:

• Clean and cut fish fillet, wash well, remove excess water and then marinate with limejuice, turmeric powder and salt.
• Keep aside for 30 minutes.
• Heat up a pan, mix in 1 tblsp oil, shallow fry marinated fish from both sides until slightly browned.
• Take off and keep aside.
• Heat up remaining oil, mix in mustard seeds, kalonji, whole dry red chillies and bay leaf, stir fry for a few minutes till seeds crackles, mix in ginger, garlic paste and stir fry again for a moment.
• Mix in cut onion and stir fry until slightly brown in colour.
• Mix in mustard paste, red chilli powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder, stir fry masala nicely until oil starts separating.
• Adjust water and salt, bring to boil and then mix in shallow fried fish, put green chilli slits on top.
• Stir fry on a slow flame until fish get cooked and oil starts floating on top of gravy.
• Take off and decorate with cut green coriander leaves.

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Beans Paruppu Usili

Ingredients:
Green string beans – 2 lb – chopped into small bits
channa dal - 1 cup (some use part toor dal and part channa dal
Salt to taste
Long Red chillies – 10
Asafoetida – 1 tsp
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Oil – 2 tbsps
Turmeric – 1 tsp
Method:
Cook beans with salt and set aside. Soak the dhals together for about an hour and grind with red chillies, salt and asafoetida using little water. Steam the ground dhal paste using idli plates. Remove, cool and crumble.
In a big kadai or wok, heat a generous measure of oil. When heated, add mustard seeds and wait till the pop. Add the crumbled dhal paste and fry till golden brown and dry. When done, add the drained cooked beans and mix in. Cook on low heat for about five minutes when the curry comes together. Taste and add salt if necessary.

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Crab cakes

Ingredients

• 1 pound crabmeat, picked free of shells
• 1/3 cup crushed crackers (recommended: Ritz)
• 3 green onions (green and white parts), finely chopped
• 1/2 cup finely chopped bell pepper
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Dash cayenne pepper
• Flour, for dusting
• 1/2 cup peanut oil
• Favorite dipping sauce, for serving

Directions

In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients, except for the flour and peanut oil. Shape into patties and dust with flour.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When oil is hot, carefully place crab cakes, in batches, in pan and fry until browned, about 4 to 5 minutes. Carefully flip crab cakes and fry on other side until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Serve warm with preferred sauce.

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