Candied Orange Chocolate Peels

 

I am utilizing my second lockdown period as well as I first.  This quarantine time I tried to reduce my scraps to convert them into foods that can be consumed. For starters I tried to convert the peels of oranges into some delicious treats – Candied Orange Chocolate Peels.

Candied fruit has existed since the 14th century. It was served in Arab culture at banquets before spreading to the West where it became a key ingredient of some of the most famous sweet dishes such as Panettone.

 

I admit I've often binned orange peels. But this time I tried this recipe with orange peels and Voila!! Made these dynamite sticks of deliciousness. Candied orange peels are not only a tasty sweet treat, but also are great to add to cake batters. So note the ingredients and recipe for this.

 

Ingredients

Peels of two oranges
1 cup of sugar + extra for coating
2 cups of water
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Half cup melted chocolate

Method

 

1. Thinly slice the orange peels into long strips.

2. Now boil them in water for 15 minutes to  and boil in water to remove  the bitterness.

3. Now drain the orange peels and repeat this process one more time. 

4. Now take a pan, add 2 cups of water,  1 cup of sugar, vanilla extract and the orange peels. 

5. Bring to a boil again, then reduce the heat to a simmer. 

6. Simmer this for about 30-35 minutes until all the liquid has dried up. 

7. Use thongs to remove orange peels and keep aside to further dry for minimum 8 hours. Or you can keep it overnight. 

8. Now melt some dark chocolate. Dip each orange peel into melted chocolate. Set it in the fridge to harden.

Now enjoy this candied orange chocolate peels, Its going to be a new obsession.

Low calorie Homemade Chocolate Protien Pudding

 Low calorie Homemade Chocolate Protien Pudding

So today I made a really healthy chocolate pudding. And you will love this recipe as the secret ingredient is hidden and cannot be tasted. The only good taste you get is of chocolate along with the crunch of nuts. It is a vegetarian recipe with no eggs. 

In this recipe I am using Nuturamore Protein Powder. It has 40% Protein,  considering the different nutritional needs of women and children of all ages. It is fortified with Shatavari, Haridra, Calcium, Iron & Folic Acid, Biotin & Omega 3 DHA.

I took the liberty to mix this protein powder in my new recipe today. You can even try mixing it in biscuits wheat flour, milk, juice, cake batter etc. So let's  check out the ingredients and method by using Naturamore protein powder. And it turned out so delicious😋

Will make 4 small size bowls.

Ingredients

2 cups cauliflower florets, 

½ cup fat-free milk

4 tbsp chocolate cookie whey protein powder 

½ tsp  vanilla extract

Honey to sweeten

Handful of pumpkin and Sunflower seeds

Fresh fruit of your choice 

Method 

1. Steam cauliflower in a steamer or in the microwave until it gets tender.

2. Now drain well and keep aside to use later in recipe. 

3. Add all the ingredients to a blender and puree until it gets smooth in texture. 

4. Divide the puree into 4 bowls. 

5. Garnish with pumpkin seeds, walnuts and fruit of your choice (pomegranate, banana, figs, mango etc) 

6. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours and serve chilled. 

This makes a great breakfast bowl option. It can be combined with Muesli and chia seeds too. 

Holi Recipe - Mango Yogurt Thandai Shots

 Holi Recipe -   Mango Yogurt Thandai Shots

However much I love Alphonso  mangoes, my first mangoes of 2021 was of a different kind. During my regular visit for fruits and groceries to Bazar road, my fruit vendor strongly recommended this sweet freshly variety of mangoes from Kerala. It was at that time, I decided to stir up a simple dessert for the festival of Holi.

So instead of the regular gujiya, malpractice, thandai, and jalebis this was my humble tribute to the sweet tooth without adding sugar. 

So here is my recipe of Holi  Mango Yogurt Thandai Shots

Ingredients 

2 big mangoes 

1 cup hung curd

Handful of nuts (cashew, pistachios and almonds)

1 tbsp thandai powder

1 tbsp raisins (kismish)

2 digestive biscuits( powdered)

Pomegranate pearls (for garnish)

1 tbsp honey (optional, only of mangoes are not sweet)

Method 

1. Wash, peal and make a pulp out of the mangoes 

2. Now add the hung curd and mix it well. 

3. Powder the digestive biscuits, add the thandai powder, and half of the chopped dry fruits and raisins to this.

4. Take cutting chai glasses to make the dessert.  First put in a layer of mango Yogurt.

5. Now add a thin layer of powdered biscuits and nuts.

6. Add another layer of mango Yogurt. 

7. Garnish this with pomegranate, chopped mango bits and nuts. 

8. Place this in the chiller for minimum an hour before serving. 

Note 

You can mix cream to mango instead of yogurt to make mango mousse jars 

Add a cake layer instead of biscuits for another variation. 

The result will be phenomenal and finger licking good. 

Carrot Rice Pudding/ Gajjar ki Phirni

 Carrot Rice Pudding/ Gajjar ki Phirni

Weekends are always the time to try out desserts. And I especially like to try out Indian sweet recipes in my kitchen. So today, I am trying a new recipe today, phirni with a twist. Adding carrots to the dish proved to be a good idea in this dish, so before the Indian carrot season (the one we make gajjar ka halwa with) was over I prepared Gajjar ki phirni....

 

 

Ingredients

2 Carrots

4 cups Milk-3 cups

½ cup Jaggery

½ cup Basmati rice

½ tsp Cardamom powder

6-8 Almonds

4-5 strands of saffron

Method

 

1. Start by soaking the basmati rice in the water for an hour. Strain the rice, and then grind the rice with this remaining water in a grinder until you have a fine paste.

2. Grate the carrots and keep aside.
3. Now in a saucepan, heat the milk and add the grated carrot and cook for ten minutes.

4. Add the rice paste and mix it with a whisk so as to ensure that no lumps remain.

5. Add the jaggery granules, and slow cook the mixture.
6. Keep stirring so it doesn’t burn at the bottom.

7. Now add the ground cardamom, and saffron to the thickened mixture.

8. Set the firni in terra-cotta or glass bowls and refrigerate, covered.

9. Garnish with crushed almonds and serve chilled.

Now enjoy a chilled bowl of phirni and give in to your sweet tooth cravings. This is just another a worthy treat, like creamy traditional pudding 'Phirni' loaded with the goodness of carrots. Welcome your weekends on a sweet note.

 

Healthy Oats Chilla How to make a quick and easy Oats Chilla

Chilla is another name for a savoury pancake generally eaten for breakfast in Indian homes. It is a vegetarian preparation, shaped like an omelet it is the perfect substitute for egg. Chilla is made with Gram/ Besan flour. This flour is made with ground chickpeas.

The diet conscious substitute gram flour to make it still healthier Oats Chilla. This Oats Chilla is scrumptious and drool worthy packed with oats and vegetables. It is a low calorie dish that be made very easily in very less time. If you are thinking of easy healthy options then this recipe of oats chilla is a good option.

 

Ingredients

Will make 2 large Chillas

 

1/2 cups Oats
 1 tsp semolina (sooji)
 2-3 tbsp Curd
 ½ finely chopped onion
½ finely chopped tomato
 1 chopped green chili
1 tsp finely corriander leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
½ tsp cumin powder
Water to make the batter
Oil for cooking Chilla

Instructions

1. First dry roast the oats in a nonstick pan for 2- 3 minutes on medium flame by constantly stirring.  Take them out then let it cool down.

2. Now add the oats to a blender and blend to a course powder.

3. Add the semolina, salt, pepper, spices to the oats.  Now add the chopped onions, tomato, chilli and coriander leaves and lightly mix all ingredients together.

4. Add the curd and water and blend to make a smooth batter (Like for dosa or pancake)

5. Keep the batter aside for 10 minutes.

6. Now place a non stick pan on the flame, add oil and let it heat. Take one portion of batter and in a circular motion form a round shaped chilla.  

7. Cook on one side and then flip it to cook on other side. Cook well till brown.

8. You can make chillas according to the size you want. Serve it hot with ketchup or chutney.

 

Chinese Style Soupy Rice Bowl

Chinese Style Soupy Rice Bowl 

Bored of making the same Chinese fried rice with Manchurian gravy at home? Well, you just need to be a tad bit creative like me. So this is what I tried instead of that. I cooked up one pot Chinese style soupy style pot rice. It was spicy with Asian flavors, goodness of veggies and added egg for protein. You can add chicken instead or even paneer if you prefer to be vegetarian.

The Sauces mixture is made with just soy sauce, Oyster Sauce, shezwan sauce, lime juice and pepper. You can add the sauces you have in your refrigerator. This makes a  perfect winter dish, it was soupy, saucy, tangy and so much more.

 

HOW I MAKE CHINESE STYLE SOUPY RICE

To get this simple recipe right you have to remember a few things.

A) SEPARATELY COOK THE RICE- Par cook the rice and then cook together when needed in recipe

B) SEPARATE VEGETABLES FROM LEAFY GREENS- In this recipe you can add any type’s of veggies available in the house. You need to cook veggies like carrots, beans, capsicum/bell peppers, broccoli, cauliflower and corn a little more than cabbage and green leaves. The purpose of this so we can add the stems to cook with the rice, then just wilt the leafy part using residual heat while the rice is resting.

Ingredients

2 tbsp oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 piece grated ginger

1 finely chopped onion

1 ½ cup assorted chopped vegetables( carrot, bell peppers, baby corn, zucchini,  broccoli)

1 ½ cup Rice

1 Maggi seasoning powder packet

1 cup chicken/vegetable stock

2 chopped green chillies

2 eggs

Salt and pepper to taste

Spring onion greens for garnish

Sauces
2 tbsp soya sauce

1 tsp oyster sauce

1 tsp Shezwan sauce

1 tsp lime juice 

 

Method

1. Mix all the sauces together,to make a marinade and keep aside  

2. Wash, clean and cut all the vegetables into small cubes or long pieces. 

3. Beat two eggs, add salt and make an omelet. Once cool cut the omelet into small strips and keep aside.

4. Par cook the rice in water and add maggi seasoning powder to this. 

5.  Now heat 1 tbsp oil in a pot/kadai. Let the oil heat,  add onion, garlic, ginger and cook for two minutes. 

6. Add the vegetables, sauté the vegetables for two minutes on high flame.

7. Add the Chinese sauce marinade  and a cup of stock. Bring to a boil.

8. Now add the par cooked rice and mix well. Cook till the liquid is absorbed and rice is cooked.

9. Add the omelet to this. See that the dish is not too dry. If it is dry add stock to make it soupy.

10. Add the spring onion greens, and salt to taste. Now serve this Chinese style soupy Rice bowl with pride but serve it piping hot. 

 

NOTES

You can make it an all Veg Pot Rice. Add cubes of Tofu or cottage cheese instead.

Also add other Asian Greens - like pak choy, bok choi etc. Cut per recipe but scatter across top rice when its cooked.