4 ingredients kaju katli recipe

 KAJU KATLI RECIPE

Kaju katli is one of the most searched sweet dish recipe of India, so I thought why not to share my recipe of kaju katli. So lets not waste any time  in the introduction.

INGREDIENTS:

CASHEW POWDER OR GROUNDED CASHEW - 2CUPS

SUGAR - 3/4CUP

WATER- 1/2 CUP

GHEE - 1TBSP 

PREPARATION:

1. To prepare the cashew powder you will need around 200gm of cashew. wash the cashew well to remove any foreign substance and dry well. once dried transfer the cashews in a mixer grinder and grind them by taking pauses at every 10 seconds. (we can't grind the cashews at one go as they will heat up and release oil)Once done strain them with the help of a sieve to get the bigger pieces out.

2. In a pan take 1/2 cup of water and add sugar to it. Wait for the sugar to dissolve in water once dissolved add the cashew powder and keep on stirring on medium heat. after few minutes add the ghee and stir well. The mixture will start to become non sticky and will start to leave the pan.

3.after around 10 minutes of cooking take a pinch of the mixture in between your thumb and index finger and check whether you can turn it into a ball or not.(you can use some water to shape it. If it turns into a ball without sticking much then just cook it for another 1 minute and turn off the heat. and let it cool at room temperature.

4. Once it cool it will become like a dough so you can handle it with hands. On a board place a plastic sheet or butter paper and roll the dough with the help of a rolling pin.

5. roll the dough thin or thick as you like. you can put silver sheet, pistachio, saffron or anything which you like or simply leave it as it is. Cut it with a knife in diamonds. 

types of cuts of vegetable and fruits.

 CUTS OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

When you work in a professional kitchen it is really important to know and master the different types of cuts of fruits and vegetables. So here are the types of cuts of vegetables and fruits which a cook should master.

BRUNOISE (SMALL DICES)

Brunoise are small dices of any vegetable which are used in soups and stocks. The beauty of cutting brunoise is that every dice should be roughly equivalent in size. the size is measured as 1 to 2 mm on each side.

MACEDOINE (LARGE DICES)

Macedoine is the larger version of brunoise cut. These are large cubes which are again ideal for preparing soups. The size varies from 3mm to 5mm on each side.

JULIENNE (THIN STRIPS)

This is a common cut in which vegetables are cut into very fine strips approximately 1 1/2 inches long.

JARDINIERE( THICK STRIPS)

This is a cut that most of us have seen but never realized. Jardiniere are thick large stripes of vegetables also known as baton. french fries cut is the best example of jardiniere cut. The approx size is (1inch * 1/4 inch *1/4 inches )

CHIFFONADE

Chiffonade is simply described as shredded leafy vegetables such as shredded cabbage or shredded lettuce.

TOURNEE

Tournee is a less commonly used cut . In this cut vegetables are turned into a barrel shape by scraping or cutting the vegetables. It is mostly used in stews.

PAYSANNE

Paysanne cut can be termed when a vegetable is cut into odd shapes like triangles, circles and squares. But even then it is ensured that all the shaped are uniform in shape.

CLASSIC FRENCH TOAST

 CLASSIC FRENCH TOAST RECIPE

 Their is an endless variety of french toast. But honestly the best is the classic cinnamon vanilla french toast. so here is a simple and yummy recipe for the classic style french toast.

INGREDIENTS:

White Bread slices - 4

Eggs - 2

Grounded cinnamon - 1tbsp

Vanilla essence - 1/2tsp

Butter - 2tbsp

Castor sugar - 2 tbsp or as required

Milk - 5 tbsp 

METHOD:

1. In a bowl add eggs whisk well, add cinnamon, vanilla essence, castor sugar, milk and mix well.

2. Heat a pan with butter.

3. Coat the bread slices with eggs and Put it on the pan let it cook on medium flame till it cooks.

4. And you are ready to eat it. I generally have it with caramel stewed apples which is a great combination.

Here is a quick method to prepare caramel stewed apples:

1. In a pan add castor sugar do not stir it till it becomes brown then add butter and mix well you will achieve a  sauce consistency then add cubed apples and cook for 5 minutes.

INGREDIENTS FOR STEWED APPLES:

apple - 1no

Castor sugar - 50gm

Butter - 10 gm 

BUTTER CHICKEN RECIPE

 RESTAURANT STYLE BUTTER CHICKEN

There is surely something about butter chicken that it is the most searched recipe on internet. Today you will see a simple and easy but by far more delicious than restaurant style butter chicken. It is so simple to make that anyone can make it but you just need some ingredients most of them are easily available at our homes. So do give this recipe a try and I promise you you would not go for any other butter chicken recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

CHICKEN    -  500gms (you can use both boneless as well as boned chicken)

TOMATOES -  5-6no.

ONIONS      -   2no.

GINGER      - 1 INCH

GARLIC       - 3 cloves 

CINNAMON - 1 INCH 

GREEN CARDOMOM - 3no.

CLOVES     -  4no.

BLACK PEPPER CORNS -  6no.

RED CHIILLI POWDER - 2tbsp.

DRIED FENUGREEK POWDER/ KASURI METHI - 1tsp

HONEY OR SUGAR- to taste

FRESH CREAM - 5 tbsp

GARAM MASALA - 1/2tbsp

BUTTER - 3tbsp

CHARCOAL - 1 piece (for smoking) 

FOR THE MARINATION OF CHICKEN:

LEMON JUICE -3 tbsp

HUNG CURD   - 5tbsp

SALT   -  TO TASTE

GINGER GARLIC PASTE - 2tbsp

KASHMIRI RED CHILLI POWDER - 3tsp

MUSTARD OIL  - 5-6tbsp.

and CHICKEN.

PREPARATIONS FOR BUTTER CHICKEN:

1. Marinate the chicken with salt, mustard oil, curd, red chilli, salt, lime juice, and ginger garlic paste. Cover and keep it in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes.

2. In a pan add diced onion, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, cinnamon stick, cardamom, peppercorns, ad cloves with a little water and cover it with a lid. let it simmer for 15minutes or till the tomatoes become mushy and soft. Let it cool.

3. when it cools transfer it to a grinder and grind till it becomes smooth.

4. once grinded well take a strainer and strain the mixture well in a bowl as to remove the seeds and skin of the tomatoes and spices. It is very important to strain the gravy as butter chicken is also known as chicken makhani and makhani means smooth as butter.

5. Now in a pan add butter, kashmiri red chilli(just a pinch otherwise your gravy will turn dark) heat the butter and now add the strained smooth liquid to it. Stir and cook till it thicken a little. Now add salt, sugar/honey, fresh cream, kasuri methi/ dried fenugreek leaf powder, garam masala and give you gravy a taste to ensure the salt. keep aside.

6. Now once your chicken has been marinated bring it out from the refrigerator. Heat a grill pan or any heavy bottomed pan. put some oil and let it heat. For this we need the pan to be hot enough so as to ensure cearing. As we want the chicken to be juicy and tender. put the chicken pieces on the pan and cook from both sides for 6 minutes. (note that the larger the size of the chicken cut the more time it will take to cook from inside) the boneless cuts cook much faster.

7. Once all the chicken pieces are done. Start heating the gravy and once it starts simmering put the chicken into the gravy and cover. let it simmer for 10 minutes.

8. Now we are done with the recipe. But for that tandoori flavor we need to smoke the chicken with the charcoal. For this heat the charcoal on flame till it becomes extremely hot. Now in a small bowl place the heated charcoal and place the bowl in the gravy pan then add butter over the charcoal and immediately cover it with a lid. wait for 5minutes. 

9. All done now take a serving bowl plate the lip smacking butter chicken garnish it with some cream and corriander greens and you are done. Enjoy it with naan, rice, rumali roti, or literally anything you like.

TIPS IF YOU ARE MAKING IT THE FIRST TIME

1. Marinate the chicken for as long as you can overnight will be the best option for an amazing tasting butter chicken.

2. In this recipe I have used onions though it is not added to makhani gravies but here we are not using cashews or almonds so onions add that sweetness and also thickens gravy. Trust me i have made butter chicken without onions, and with onions the with onion butter chicken was actually better.

3. smoking the gravy is a crutial step which i don't want you to skip.

4. If you don't have fresh cream you can also use malai instead just whisk it add make it smooth.

5. Make sure that you don't add too much kashmiri red chilli powder as it turns the gravy red. what we want is orange.

6. If you don't have hung curd you can use normal thick curd with less whey content and then add gram flour/besan to make your marination thick. so as it can coat the chicken well.

MUTTON STEW RECIPE

MUTTON STEW HOTEL STYLE RECIPE

mutton stew.

Are you one of those who like mutton over chicken? If yes then do give this delicious restaurant style mutton stew a try. This recipe is even more delicious when you make it in winters trust me you will definately love it. This recipe is a gift for those who are a fan of continental dishes. So without wasting any time checkout this recipe.

for this recipe you need:

MUTTON -  500GM

CARROT  -  100GM                       

POTATO   -   100GM

TURNIP    -   100GM

FRENCH BEANS - 50GM

TOMATO  PURREE - 200GM

BROWN ROUX(butter and flour cooked together until brown in colour) - 50GM

BROWN STOCK  - 50GM (mutton stock or chicken stock or water will also work)

MIRE POIX  -100GM

BUTTER - 50GM

OIL    - JUST A LITTLE

METHOD:

1. Cut the mutton into small cubes.

2. Heat a sauce pan and add oil or butter into the pan and heat it till hot.

3. Add the mutton cubes when the oil is hot and fry it till cooked.

4. Add the roughly chopped vegetables and stir well then add mire poix, brown stock, tomato puree and stir well. Season the stock with salt pepper.

5. now bring the stew to a boil and cover with a lid and keep on stirring a covering the stew for 1-2 hours. the stew should be simmering.

6. once the stew thickens you are done.

7. for serving take the meat out first then pour the gravy on top and then the vegetables. At last garnish with freshly chopped parsley or coriander.

tournee carrot and potato.

NOTE:

1.carrot. potato ,turnip are to be cut in tourne.

2. mirepoix is a combination of three vegetable mainly carrot, onion. and celery. for this recipe use small quantities of all three vegetables.

Fish fingers recipe

EASY TO MAKE   FISH FINGERS 

Fish fingers is one of the recipes I've always enjoyed making and having. I learned this recipe in my culinary school as a student. And trust me i was stunned when i ate it as it was so delicious. Crispy on the outside and tender and juicy from inside with subtle flavours. This recipe can be enjoyed as it is or with a squeeze of lime on top or with tarter sauce.

INGREDIENTS 

1. Fish fillet( any fish will work i prefer using frozen basa or haddock as these do not smell much).    600gm.

2. Oil.      500ml (for frying)

3. lemon.  2no

4. Egg.     2no

5. All purpose flour-20gm

6. White pepper powder- a pinch

7. Salt (to taste)

8. Bread crumbs      

              

METHOD

1. Cut the fillets in finger shape.

2. Take a bowl and add the fingers in it and squeeze lemon add salt and pepper and marinate for 10 minutes.

3. Take a sauce pan and heat the oil on medium heat

4. Take another bowl and add flour. Season the flour with salt and pepper. Now dust the fish fingers in the seasoned flour.

5. Take a bowl and beat the eggs into it. Now take the dusted fish fingers out of the flour and dip it into the beaten eggs.

6. Now take the fingers out of the eggs and coat them with bread crumbs.

7. When the oil is hot deep fry the fingers and fry till golden brown.( make sure that you keep an eye on the fingers while you are frying them as fish burns really quick)

8.serve hot.