Thai Tom Yum Prawn Noodle Soup

 

                  Tom Yum is a traditional Thai clear soup which has all the flavours - spicy sweet and sour. It is simply delicious, spicy and mouth watering. The prawns and mushrooms brings out the true flavor. Prawns can also be substituted with boiled and shredded chicken. For a more wholesome dish, I also added some noodles. It is a complete meal in itself and a bowl of this appetizing soup gives complete satisfaction. 

           

                   This is a Thai street food which is found all over the country. It has become very popular here now and can be found in many restaurants and eating joints. This is an instant version where I made use of store bought tom yum paste. So when time is a restraint, this is a perfect one pot comfort meal to lift up your spirits. It is almost like a South Indian rasam. 

• 1/2 litre water
• 2-3 tbsp. tom yum paste
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 2 green chilies
• 1 tomato, cubed
• 1 onion, cubed
• 1 cup Shimeji mushroom
• 8-10 prawns / shrimps, cleaned & deveined
• 1/3 cup evaporated milk
• juice of 1/2 lime
• 2-3 tbsp. spring onion (both white & green part)
• 1 tsp. coriander leaves to garnish
• lemon slices to garnish
• 1-2 boiled eggs, sliced into half
• 2-3 dumplings (opt)

          Bring the water to a boil. Then add the tom yum paste, sugar and red chili powder. Simmer on a low flame for 4-5 minutes.

          Then add the prawns, mushroom, onion, tomato, milk, white part of the spring onion and green chilies. Simmer for 2-3 minutes.

          Ladle the soup into a serving dish and add lemon juice. Serve, garnished with chopped spring onion, coriander leaves, dumpling, lemon slices and boiled eggs.

Dates & Rice Kheer / Payasam / Pudding

 

            Today I would like to share an instant version of this very easy, simple and a healthy Dates & Rice kheer recipe. It has very few ingredients and can be served as an after-meal dessert or as a side dish with poori. It tastes just awesome. The consistency and the sweetness of this pudding can be adjusted accordingly. Few fresh fruits too can be added to make it more nutritious. 

          So next time you are short of time and want something quick and easy, then go ahead and prepare this yummy dessert. This instant version of kheer only needs some leftover rice, dates and milk, the three main ingredients. Do check out a quick step by step pictorial recipe to prepare this chilled dessert. 

• 1/3 cup cooked rice
• 8-10 dates, soaked for an hour
• 2 cups milk
• 1/4 tsp. cardamom powder
• 1 tsp. kewra water
• 2 tsp. chopped mixed nuts
• pinch of saffron
• few pieces of dates 

          Puree the dates along with the milk in the mixer grinder. 

          In a bowl, take the rice and cardamom powder. Mash it slightly. 

          Now add the dates & milk puree, kewra water and saffron. Mix well and adjust the consistency by adding in more milk if needed.

          Add half of the chopped nuts & refrigerate for a couple of minutes. 

          Serve, garnished with pieces of dates, chopped nuts and few saffron strands. 

                        In a bowl, take rice & cardamom powder. Mash it slightly. 

                  Add the dates & milk puree, kewra water & the saffron. Mix well,

                Add half of the chopped nuts & refrigerate for a couple of minutes. 

          Serve, garnished with pieces of dates, chopped nuts & few saffron strands. 

Poha Pakora Chaat

 

              Chaats are of different types and forms and happens to be one of my favourite snack. It is a favorite Indian street food enjoyed by all, young and old alike. It is yummy, light on the stomach and extremely tongue tingling. The ingredients can be mixed and matched to dish out this delicacy. 

          So let me share a delicious Chaat prepared with some leftover pakoras made of leftover Kanda Poha and complete with all the toppings. I added chopped cucumber, tomato, onion, green chilies, coriander leaves, some dry spices, yoghurt, raw mango chutney and sweet tamarind chutney. So here you have leftovers ka makeover. 

          All Chaat lovers will definitely enjoy this fusion recipe. They are relished as a tea-time snack, as a light dinner or anytime of the day. So check out the step by step pictorial recipe to prepare this yummy comfort food.

• Few leftover Pakoras 
• 1 cup chilled whisked yoghurt
• 1/2 cup green mango chutney
• 1/2 cup sweet tamarind chutney
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1/2 cucumber, chopped
• 1-2 green chilies, chopped
• 2-3 tbsp. coriander leaves, chopped
• handful of boiled chickpeas
• handful of farsan mixture 
• 1 tsp. chaat masala 
• 1 tsp. roasted cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp. red chili powder
• salt to taste

          To assemble the chaat - On a serving plate, arrange the leftover pakoras. Top it up with chopped cucumber, tomato, onion, boiled chickpeas and green chilies.

          Then pour the chilled yoghurt, green mango chutney and sweet tamarind chutney.

          At the end, sprinkle all the dry spices, farsan and chopped coriander leaves. Voila, yummy chaat is ready to savour. 

                     On a serving plate, arrange the leftover pakoras. Top it up with

                     cucumber, tomato, onion, boiled chickpeas & green chilies.

                 Pour chilled yoghurt, mango chutney & sweet tamarind chutney.                               Then sprinkle all the dry spices, farsan & coriander leaves.

                       Voila, yummy chaat is ready to savour.

Kanda Poha Pakora

 

          Have any leftover Kanda Poha and wondering what to do with it? Then dish out these crispy and crunchy pakoras and enjoy as a tea time snack. They can also be served as an appetizer with any chutney of your choice, sauce, mayonnaise or hummus. So check out the step by step pictorial recipe to prepare this yummy treat.

           Easily available ingredients are needed for this recipe and in no time these amazing pakoras will be gone. It is very easy and quick to prepare and is apt for any in house or kitty party. 

            Moreover, any leftover pakoras can be turned into kadhi pakoras / pakora curry to be relished with steamed rice / chapatti or pakora chaat. So choice is yours. 

• 1 & 1/2 cups leftover Kanda Poha 
• 3 tbsp. chickpea flour (besan)
• 2-3 tbsp. yoghurt or as required
• salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. red chili powder
• 1 tsp. grated ginger
• 1-2 green chilies, chopped
• 1/2 tsp. chaat masala
• 1 tsp. carom seeds
• 2 tbsp. chopped coriander leaves
• 1/4 tsp. pepper powder
• pinch of soda
• 1 tsp. roasted coriander-cumin powder
• oil to deep fry 

          In a bowl, mix together the leftover kanda poha along with the rest of the ingredients (except oil) into a soft dough. (Adjust the consistency by adding more or less yoghurt).

          Heat oil in a pan / kadai and drop spoonful of the mix. Deep fry on all sides till golden brown in colour. 

          Drain on a tissue paper and serve as a tea time snack or as an appetizer with any chutney, sauce, mayonnaise or hummus.

                              In a bowl, mix together the leftover kanda poha.....

                              and rest of the ingredients (except oil) ......

                              ...... into a soft dough.

                      Heat oil & drop spoonful of the mix. Deep fry on all sides 

                      till golden brown in colour. 

                               Drain on a tissue paper.

 

                   Serve as a tea time snack or as an appetizer with any chutney, 

                   sauce, mayonnaise or hummus.

Raw Jackfruit (Kathal) Pakora

 

             Tea time without some fried snacks is just meaningless. One can't resist the temptation of deep fried pakoras. A bowl of hot and crispy pakoras is anytime welcome. So here are some easy to make yummy raw jackfruit pakoras / fritters. 

             These crispy treats are just perfect with your evening cuppa. You can also serve them as appetizers, with chutney, sauce, labneh, hummus or cheese spread. They are absolutely easy to prepare as it requires only few basic ingredients. I made them both spicy and tangy. However, it can be adjusted accordingly. So check out the step by step pictorial recipe to prepare it. 

          If it happens to be a rainy day or a cold winter night, then the excitement of having these pakoras reaches to another level. These amazing pakoras are also great as an accompaniment to dal chawal or curd rice. 

          Any leftover pakoras can be made into Kadhi Pakora the next day and enjoyed with hot steamed rice / jeera rice for a great comfort meal. You can also dish out pakora chaat for a light dinner.

• 1 small raw jackfruit, peeled & cubed
• 3 tbsp. chickpea flour
• 2 tbsp. semolina
• 2 tbsp. rice flour
• salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp. red chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. amchur
• 1/2 tsp. roasted cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp. roasted coriander powder
• 1  tbsp. kasuri methi, crushed
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 tsp. carom seeds, crushed
• 1 tsp. ginger-garlic paste
• 2 green chilies, chopped
• 3 tbsp. coriander leaves, chopped
• 1 tbsp. hot oil
• oil to deep fry

          Pressure cook the raw jackfruit for one whistle. Set aside to cool down. Then mash / shred them.

          In a large bowl, combine all the mentioned ingredients (except oil to deep fry) into a thick batter. Add water only if needed.

          Heat oil in a pan / kadai and drop spoonful of the mix. Deep fry on a low to medium flame on all sides till crisp and brown. Drain on a tissue paper.

          Serve as an appetizer / tea time snack with any chutney of your choice, sliced onion, green chilies and lemon wedges.

                     Pressure cook the raw jackfruit for one whistle. Set aside to

                     cool down. Then mash / shred them.

                      In a large bowl, add all the ingredients (except oil to deep fry)

                               Mix well into a thick batter. Add water only if needed.

                    Heat oil & drop spoonful of the mix. Deep fry till crisp & brown. 

Drain on a tissue paper.

                     Serve as an appetizer / tea time snack with any chutney of

                     your choice, sliced onion, green chilies and lemon wedges.

Mithai Shrikhand

 

               Shrikhand is a traditional Maharashtrian dessert prepared from hung yoghurt and flavored with saffron and cardamom powder.  So here is my version of this amazing chilled dessert prepared with some leftover modak. In this way, you can make good use of them and come up with this amazing fusion type of Shrikhand.

               In this recipe, I made use of  kesar modak. You can use any other leftover sweets. So a great combination of some leftover sweets and yoghurt makes for this yummy Shrikhand. Garnish with a pinch of saffron, some crushed sweets, chopped nuts, dry rose petals, saffron and a sprig of mint and you are ready to savour it. 

             Do try this absolutely simple, easy and a yummy dessert with just two main ingredients - hung yoghurt and few leftover sweets. The end result is this creamy dessert that is best relished, chilled. I have not added any sugar. You may if you wish. I flavored it with cardamom powder and rose water. You can try with any other flavour of your choice. So check out the step by step pictorial recipe to prepare this chilled homemade delicacy in a fusion style.

• 500 gms. yoghurt
• 4-5 mango & kesar modak, mashed
• 1/4 tsp. cardamom powder
• 1 tsp. rose water
• a pinch of saffron soaked in 2 tbsp. water / milk
• some crushed sweets, chopped mixed nuts, saffron, dry rose petals & mint

          Pour the yoghurt in a cheese cloth and place on a strainer. Keep this on a bowl in the refrigerator overnight. The thick hung yoghurt is used for the recipe. 

          In a bowl, whisk together hung yoghurt and the leftover mashed modak. Pass it through a strainer to remove any granules. 

          Now add the cardamom powder, saffron water and rose water. Mix well and refrigerate for some time.

          Serve this amazing Shrikhand, garnished with chopped nuts, dried rose petals, saffron, crushed modak and mint.

                        Pour the yoghurt in a cheese cloth & place on a strainer. Keep this

                        on a bowl in the refrigerator overnight. 

                               In a bowl, whisk together hung yoghurt & the mashed modak.

                                 Pass it through a strainer to remove any granules. 

                           Add cardamom powder, saffron water & rose water. Mix well & 

                           refrigerate for some time.

                         Serve this amazing Shrikhand, garnished with chopped nuts, dried 

                         rose petals, saffron, crushed modak and mint.