Bottle Gourd Savoury Muffins

Bottle Gourd Savoury Muffins

This is my winning recipe in a contest conducted by Mumbai Chapter Indian Food Freak.... 

Ingredients
4 Eggs
1 cup Grated Bottle Gourd along with the skin
1 small Onion minced
2 Green chillies minced
1/4 tsp Ginger grated
1/4 tsp Garlic grated
1/4 cup +  2 tbsp Whole wheat
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Olive oil
1/2 tsp Pepper powder
Salt to taste

Method
Take the eggs. Very gently with a metal skewer, prick one end of the egg and make a hole. Take a mixing bowl, pour out the yolk and the egg whites in the mixing bowl and wash the egg shells very gently. Remove the water out and keep it under the fan to dry. Mean while add all the above ingredients in the mixing bowl except 2 tbsp flour. Mix it well. The batter has to be thick dropping consistency.  If required add 2 tbsp flour. Take a 6 cavity cupcake mould. Take a piece of foil paper and adjust the foil in the cup cake cavity, so that the egg shell can sit well. 

Repeat the process for other cavities also. Spray the inner side of the egg shells with oil. Pour the batter in the egg shell filling 2/3 of the egg shell. The remaining batter can be poured into the greased cup cake cavities or turned into an egg Paratha. Bake the muffins at 160 degrees celcius for 35 to 40 minutes. To check insert a tooth pick. If the tooth pick comes out clean then the muffins are done. 

Remove it from the oven and cool the muffins before peeling the egg shell out. Enjoy the Bottle Gourd Savoury Muffins with Tea... The remaining batter can be used in making cup cake muffins and parathas. 

   

Thandai Chocolate

Thandai Chocolate
Ingredients
250 grams of White chocolate compound
Some candy colours of your choice

Ingredients for Thandai powder
10 Almonds
10 Pistachios
2 tbsp  Melon Seeds
8 Rose Petals
1/4 tsp Poppy Seeds
2 Green Cardamom
4 Peppercorns
1/2 tsp Fennel Seeds
1/2 tsp Rose Essences
Few strands of Saffron

Method
Grind all the ingredients together and keep aside. Take white chocolate and melt it. Temperature of the White chocolate should be 100 – 110° F (37 – 43° C). Be very careful as the high milk and sugar content in white chocolate will cause it to burn easily.
Add the powder to the melted chocolate . Mix it. Add colours to the mould and fill the moulds with chocolate . Keep it in the fridge till it sets.
The Thandai powder can be used in the milk adding sugar to it to make Thandai drink...

Fried Modak Stuffed with Bottle Gourd and Mava stuffing.......

Modaks have a special significance during Ganesh festival,  as it is believed to be the favourite food Lord Ganesha, due to which he is called moniker modakapriya (the one who likes modak) in Sanskrit. During Ganesh Chathurthi the deity is offered with Modak and distributed as Prasad..  Modaks are made with rice flour and jaggary coconut stuffing  which are steamed.  Innovative recipes for modaks have also been created like chocolate modak, motichoor modak, cake modak....

Fried Modak Stuffed with Bottle Gourd  and Mava stuffing.......
For the Stuffing
Ingredients
3 cups  Bottle gourd grated along with the skin
1/2 cup Mava
1 cup Milk
1/2 cup Condensed milk
5 tbsp or More Sugar according to the sweetness required
1/4 tsp Cardomon powder
Pinch of Salt
1 tbsp Almond flakes
1 tbsp Raisin
1 tbsp Broken Cashew nuts
1 tbsp Ghee

Method
Take a wok. Add grated bottle gourd, cover and cook till the juices of the bottle gourd reduces. Mean while in another pot mix 1/4 cup Mava , milk, condensed milk, sugar and salt. Let it boil and then let it simmer on low flame for 5 minutes. Add the bottle gourd in the milk. On a low flame cook the bottle gourd stirring it occasionally till the bottle gourd has incoperated well with the other ingredients. Add raisins, broken cashew nuts, Almond flakes, Cardomon powder, remaining Mava and ghee. Cook for another 10 minutes. Keep it aside.

For the dough
2 cups All purpose flour OR 1 cup APF and 1 cup Whole wheat
1 tbsp Ghee
Salt to taste

Method
Mix flour and salt. Add ghee and mix the flour well. Add water as required and knead the flour to get a semi soft dough. Keep it covered for 15 minutes.

For the Modak
Dough
Stuffing
Oil for frying

Method
Make equal portion of the dough. Take a portion of the dough and roll it into a 2 inch circle. Add one spoon of the stuffing. With the help of the fingers curl up the edges of the dough. Gently get the edges together and close the edges. Take oil for frying in a wok. Heat the oil. Fry the modaks till brown in colour from all the sides.

Pizza Cake

Pizza Cake

For Pizza Dough
Ingredients
2 cups All purpose flour
Salt to taste
2 tsp Dry Yeast
1 tsp  Sugar
1/4 cup Lukewarm Water
2 tbsp Olive oil

Method
Take a mixing bowl. Mix Flour and Salt. Take Lukewarm water. Add sugar and yeast. Let it rise. Add the yeast water and extra water little at a time to make a dough. Knead the dough for 10 minutes. Add 1 tbsp oil and stretch the dough while kneading. Apply oil on the dough and let it rise double in size. Punch the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes.

For the filling and topping
Ingredients
1 small Onion
1 small Tomatoes
4 Mushrooms
Few cubes of each Green, Yellow and Red Capsicum
(All the vegetables cut into medium sized cubes)
1/4 cup or More Chicken sausages, Cooked Minced meat, Pepporoni, Cooked/ Boiled/ Roasted Boneless Chicken medium size cubes - Any Meat (Optional)
Dry Oregano and Chilli flakes (optional)

Method
Add all the ingredients for the filling and topping in a chopper and mince all the ingredients together.

Pizza Cake
Ingredients
Pizza dough
1/4 cup Pizza Sauce
Vegetable and meat mince
1/4 Cup grated Mozzarella, Cheddar and Processed Cheese. Equal portion of Mozzarella, Cheddar and Processed cheese to be taken.

Method
Mix all the above ingredients except the bread dough. Grease a square 7 inches Spring Form Pan.Take the bread dough. Flatten the dough. Take 4 tbsp of the vegetable and meat mince, add it in the centre of the dough. Take the edges of the dough and close the filling. Place the dough on the baking tin, close end facing down wards. Let the dough rise. Add the rest of the vegetable and meat mince on the top of the dough. Bake at 160 degrees for 40 minutes till the cheese has melted and the bread has cooked in an preheated oven. Let it cool and then take the bread out from the pan.  Cut into pieces and serve.

Healthy Tikki Burger

Who said Burgers are not Healthy... Here is my recipe of Healthy Tikki Burger right from the  scratch...

Healthy Tikki Burger

Ingredients 

6 Multi Grain Buns

6  Veg OR Fish Tikki 

Avocado Yogurt Dip

1 Onion Sliced

1 Tomato Sliced

1 Cucumber or Zucchini  Thin Slices lengthwise

1 Carrot Thin Slices lengthwise 

Lettuce Leaves 

Cheese slices (optional)

Method
Cut the buns into half. Take the lower portion of the bun. Add lettuce leaf, cumcumber, carrot, fish Tikki, Avocado yogurt dip, onion slice, tomato slice and cheese slice. Cover it with the top portion of the bun... Ready to enjoy the healthy treat...

Multi grain Buns
Ingredients
3 cups All purpose flour
1/2 cup Whole wheat flour
1/4 cup Soya flour
1/4 cup Amarnath flour
1/4 cup Nachni flour
1/4 cup Jowari flour
1/4 cup Bajri flour
1 1/2 tbsp Dry Yeast
2 tbsp Sugar
1/2 cup Lukewarm water
1 1/2 tbsp Olive oil
Salt to taste
Milk wash + Butter wash

Method
Take a cup. Add the sugar, yeast and Luke warm water, let it rise. Take a mixing bowl. Add all types of flours and salt. Mix it. Make a well in the centre of the flour. Add the yeast. Stir the yeast and start mixing the flour... Add the water little at a time to make a soft dough. Add 1 tbsp oil, Knead the dough for 10 minutes. Drizzel some oil on top of the dough, cover and keep for rising double in size. Punch the dough and knead it again for sometime. Divide the dough into equal proportions. Grease the baking tray.  Rub some oil on the palms. Take one portion of the dough. Roll the dough giving it a round shape. Place each buns on the baking tray at some distance. Spray with water and cover with soft Malmal cloth till it rises double in size. Brush it with milk + butter wash. Bake it in a pre heated oven at 180 degrees celcius for 25 minutes or till brown on top. Optional brush butter on top. Cool the buns a bit and remove it from the tray.

Fish Tikki
Ingredients
750 grams Bassa fish boiled and mashed
4 Midium Potatoes cut into half, boiled
1 Onion chopped
2 Green chillies chopped
1 tsp  Ginger grated
1 tsp Garlic grated
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp Pepper powder
1/2 Cumin powder
1 pinch Nutmeg powder
2 pinch Cinnamon powder
2 pinch Clove powder
1/4 tsp Lime juice
1 Egg yolk
1 tbsp Parsley chopped
2 tbsp Oil

Method
Take a wok. Add 1 tbsp oil. Add onion, chillies, ginger and garlic. Sauté it for few minutes till the onions becomes translucent. Add the fish, salt, pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cumin powder and lime juice. Mix it and stir for 2 minutes. Add the potatoes and mash it along with the fish. Switch off the gas. Add parsley leaves and egg yolk. Mix it well. Let the mixture cool. Apply oil on the palms. Make equal portion of the mixture. Take one portion and make a ball. Flatten the ball. Repeat the same process with the rest of the Tikkis. Take a grill pan. Drizzel some oil. Grill the Tikkis until brown from both the side. Serve hot.

Veg Tikki
Ingredients
1 Cup Soya mince boiled and water squeezed out
1/2 Cup Cottage cheese / Paneer Mashed
1/4 Cup Mix Veg finely Minced ( Carrot, Capsicum, grated beetroot and Few peas)
4 Medium Potatoes cut into half, boiled
1 Onion chopped
2 Green chillies chopped
1 tsp  Ginger grated
1 tsp Garlic grated
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp Pepper powder
1/2 Cumin powder
2 pinch Cinnamon powder
2 pinch Clove powder
1/4 tsp Lime juice
1 tbsp Parsley chopped
2 tbsp Oil

Method
Take a wok. Add 1 tbsp oil. Add onion, chillies, ginger and garlic. Sauté it for few minutes till the onions becomes translucent. Add the paneer, soya kheema,vegetables, salt, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, cumin powder and lime juice. Mix it and stir for 2 minutes. Add the potatoes and mash it along with the vegetable mixture. Switch off the gas. Add parsley leaves. Mix it well. Let the mixture cool. Apply oil on the palms. Make equal portion of the mixture. Take one portion and make a ball. Flatten the ball. Repeat the same process with the rest of the Tikkis. Take a grill pan. Drizzel some oil. Grill the Tikkis until brown from both the side. Serve hot.

Avacado Yogurt Dip
Ingredients
1 Avocado chopped
1/2 cup Hung Yogurt
1 Green Chilli
4 Garlic cloves
1 Dry Red Chilli
1/2 tsp Lime juice
1 tsp Olive Oil
Salt to taste
Dry Oregano and Chilli flakes seasoning

Method
Add all the above ingredients in the blender except for the Dry Oregano and Chilli flakes seasoning. Blend the ingredients into a smooth paste. Season with Dry Oregano and Chilli flakes.