Kheer Patishapta / Sweet Wraps

Ingredients (makes 20 pieces):
 - Khoa: 200 gms
 - Milk: 1 litre
 - Sugar: 1/2 cup for stuffing 
             + 1/2 cup for batter
 - Suji (Semolina): 1/2 cup

 - Maida (Flour): 1/2 cup

 - Oil: 1 tea spoon per 'patishatpa'

Preparation (20 minutes):

Add Khoa to Milk and Sugar then reduce the mix over low flame to firm 'kheer' for the 'Kheer' stuffing. 

For the batter, mix Suji:Madia:Sugar in 1:1:1 equal portions, then dilute with milk into a syrup (consistency like maple syrup or 'chashni'). Let this syrup mix stand for 30 minutes to an hour. Heat pan, spray oil, mix syrup well and spread on pan like thin pancakes. Lay the kheer stuffing and wrap into 'Patishapta'

Optional: spread some sweet condensed milk over the patishaptas

Chicken Skewers

Ingredients (Serves 4)

- Bell-Peppers: 2 Green 1 Orange 1 Red

- Onions: 1 Large diced

- Cube Chicken Thigh: 1/2 pound

- Spices: Cinnamon, Cardamon, Chili

- Skewers

- Salt to taste and Olive Oil

Preparation: (25 mins)

Marinate the chicken cubes in 1 tablespoon of olive oil, spices and salt. Let it stand for an hour.

Dice the capsicum, onions and alternate it with cubed chicken into the skewer. Place the skewer into skillet or grill (set the temperature to 245 C). Turn from time to time and serve hot

Ground Chicken Stuffed Bell-Peppers

Ingredients (Serves 4)
- Garlic: 5-6 psc
- Large Bell-Peppers: 4
- Ground Chicken: 1/2 pound
- Spices: Cinnamon and Cardamon
- Tomato puree: 1/2 cup
- Salt to taste and Cooking Oil

Preparation: (25 mins)
In a hot pan, saute chopped garlic, once brown add the whole peppers, Cinnamon and Cardamon. Then add ground chicken and mix well. Add salt to taste and tomato puree. Simmer, cover and let it cook for 10 minutes.
Wash and cut the bell-peppers into half horizontally to open them up as cup shaped halves. Stuff the ground chicken into the bell peppers, smear some oil around the peppers. Pre-heat oven for 5 minutes to 375 C, place the stuffed bell-peppers and let it broil for 10 minutes. Serve with some creamy sauce!

Makke ki Roti Aur Sarson ka Saag!

Ingredients for 'Saag': (Serves 4)

Sarson ka Saag (Mustard leaf bunch): 1

Spinach bunch: 1

Butter: 10 gms

Chopped Onions: 1 cup

Tomatoes: 2

Garlic - 8 psc

Salt to taste

Cooking Oil

Turmeric + Chili powder: 1/2 spoon

Coriander + Cumin powder: 1 spoon

Whole Cumin and Coriander seeds: 1/2 tea spoon

'Saag' Preparation (20 minutes)

Wash the spinach and mustard leafs in cold water.

In a pan, sauté the chopped onions, add garlic. When garlic gets toasted, add the spinach and mustard leafs. Once the greens wilt and lose water, add spices, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Then add the chopped tomatoes and simmer for another 5 minutes. Turn off the flame and let it cool off a bit (let's work on the 'Makke ki Roti' now).

Coarse-puree the leafy mix in a blender. Add butter to pan, add whole cumin and coriander seeds, let it crackle before adding the puree and then simmer for 5 minutes.

Ingredients for Makke ki Roti: (Serves 4)

Flour of Sweet Corn: 1 and 1/2 Cup

Salt to taste

Cooking Oil

Makke-Roti Preparation (10 minutes)

Mix 1/2 tea spoon salt to flour, 2 table spoon oil mix well. Add 1/4 cup water and knead the flour to a firm dough. Divide the dough into 8 equal portions. Roll out each mini dough into a roti and toast it on a hot flat pan. smear some butter on the rotis before serving it with the Saag!

Grilled Lobster in White Creamy Sauce

Ingredients: (Serves 2)

Unsalted Butter 50 gms

Full Crème 35% 100 ml

Garlic - 3 psc

Lobster - 2

Salt and Pepper to taste

Olive Oil

Herbs - Oregano, Thyme, Rosemary

Preparation (20 minutes)

Cut the washed Lobster vertically into two halves. Coat it with Olive Oil and Italian Herbs and grill it in a pre-heated oven at 375° for 15 minutes.

While the lobsters are getting grilled, in a pan melt butter on low heat. Add finely chopped garlic, crushed pepper and Italian herbs to the melted butter. Let the herbs splutter a bit. Add full crème to this and do a natural reduction till the gravy is thick. Put the grilled lobsters in this pan of gravy and let it sit for 10 minutes, soak in the gravy as much before serving!

Chocolate Vanilla Marble Cake

Ingredients 

Unsalted butter - 1/2 cup

All purpose flour - 1 3/4 cups

Baking powder - 2 teaspoons

Sugar - 1 cup

Eggs - 3 psc

Vanilla Extract - 1 teaspoon

Milk Chocolate - 70 gms

Pinch of salt

Preparation

Generously butter a Baking pan and set aside. Whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Melt the milk Chocolate on a boiling water bath. 

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time to this mix and add the Vanilla extract. Add flour in 2 batches. Mix well and divide this batter into 2 parts. To one part add the molten chocolate and mix well. 

Now lay out the two batters (regular and chocolate) into the baking pan in alternating spoonful. To get the Marble effect, swirl the batter using a wooden skewer.

In a preheated oven, bake this mix for 35 to 40 minutes till a cake tester comes out clean. Let it cool for 5 minutes before turning out the cake from pan. Serve warm!

Chicken Biryani

Ingredients (Serves 4)

Basmati Rice - 2 cups

Chicken - 1 kg

Ginger Paste - 1 spoon

Garlic Paste - 1 spoon

Onions 2 Large - finely chopped

Biryani Masala - 2 tea spoons

Salt to taste

Pepper corns - 6 to 8

Ghee - 2 table spoon

Tomatoes - 2 finely chopped

Mustard Oil for cooking

Finely chopped Coriander leaves

Indian Spices: Chili, Coriander, Cumin powder - 1 table spoon each

Garam Masala: Cinnamon, Cardamom, Cloves, Star Anise & Bay Leaf - 4 each

Preparation (30 Minutes)

In a pan boil water - add Cinnamon, Cardamom and Cloves - 2 each. When the water come to a boil add soaked Basmati rice. Let the rice boil till its almost done. Drain the hot water and add regular water to the pot (rice will not stick)

In a pan heat Mustard Oil, add the Garam Masala and pepper corns. Once they spices let out aroma add finely chopped onions, caramelize it before adding the medium size chopped marinated chicken. Mix well and let the Chicken take on a little roast before adding the Spices mixed in half cup of warm water. Mix the spices well to the chicken and add chopped tomatoes. Let the mix simmer for 20 minutes before adding ghee and turning off the fire.

Divide this chicken into 3 parts. leave 1/3 of it in the pan, cover it with 1/3 of the rice, then lay out 1/3 chicken on top of the rice. Alternate this till you have 3 layers of rice and chicken alternating each other. Sprinkle a few fried onions and garnish it with Coriander leaves before serving. Usually goes well with 'Raita' and 'Kebabs' on the side!