Bread Halwa

Bread Halwa Recipe:

Ingredients:(serves 2-3 people)
4-6 Bread Slices
1 Glass Boiled hot milk
300 grms Sugar.(or as per taste)
200-300 grms Ghee(may vary)
A non-stick pan for frying
A Bowl for mixing

Method:
In a pan fry bread with ghee until golden brown.(Be generous with ghee because if you use less ghee then the bread will not be crispy or turn golden brown rather it will burnand become black).
Now roughly tear bread slices into 4 pieces per slice and keep in a bowl.
Combine sugar and milk together and pour the mixture over the bread while stiring. Once the bread absorbs all the milk it is ready to eat.
Garnish with roasted cashew and raisins(optional)
Tastes good hot or cold.


Cheers
Chandini

Plain Sponge Cake

Cake Recipe: Ingredients: 225 grms Self raising flour, 225 grms sugar, 225 grms butter (room temperature),4 large eggs 1 spn vanilla flavoured essence/ extract. 1 flat tea spn baking powder. 2-3 tbl spns milk. Method: Sieve flour and baking powder and keep aside. Beat butter and sugar well until sugar dissolves. Add eggs one at a time and beat well. Add milk and vanilla essence and combine. Now keep combining and keep adding the flour and baking powder mixture slowly little by little making sure it dissolves well with no lumps. The Mixture is ready. If you wish u can add dry fruits to this mixture before baking. To bake pre-heat oven to 180degrees. Line a cake tin with a grease proof paper and pour in the mixture. Place this in the pre heated oven and bake for 35 mins, then lower the temperature to 160 degrees and cover the tin with foil inorder to protect the cake from burning. Bake for 20 more mins. Now remove the foil and poke knife deep into the cake in the center, if it comes out clean the cake is done. if not continue for 10 more mins. Soft smooth cake is ready. Cheers, Chandini

Puri mukkalu (puri biscuit)

Puri mukkalu Recipe:
Ingredients:
2cups of Maida/Plain white flour. 1/2 cup milk. 4-5 spns of sugar.A pinch of salt. Oil and a pan to fry.

Method:
Add sugar to milk and dissolve. Now add this mixture to the flour,add salt and knead into a stiff dough (similar to that we make for puri).
Make small balls and roll out each in to flat large puris. Now with a knife cut the puri into smaller diamond /square shapes (as you like). Finish the enitre dough to make small shapes and deep fry on medium heat oil until golden brown. sweet puir biscuit is ready to eat.

Alternate option:
Those of you who do not like it sweet can make it salty. Just make a dough using salt flour and water. Add 1spn of ajwain/ jeera as this will give a good taste when added. Rest is the same.
Note:
The picture shows how salty puri biscuit with ajwain looks (this is my favourite).

Cheers,
Chandini

Chekkalu (Andhra Tea time Snack)

Chekkalu Recipe: Ingredients: 2 cups rice flour, 6-8 green chillies,2-3 stems curry leaves (better if chopped/ halved), a lime size piece of ginger, 1cup Soaked saggubeeyyam(saboo dana), 1/2 cup split roasted gram (Daria daal). Salt to taste and 50-75 grams butter (at room temperature). A Plain sheet of cling film or any plastic cover/sheet(to press the dough). Oil and a heavy bottom deep pan for frying. Method: In a mixer grinder grind together ginger and chillies to make a fine paste. In a dry bowl mix rice flour salt and butter together. Now add the chilli paste, chopped curry leaves, gram dal, saboo dana and combine with little water to form a smooth dough. Make small balls and place them on the plastic sheet.Press with fingers to make small flat round poppadum shapes. Use a drop of oil on your hands to avoid from sticking. Heat oil in the pan and fry on a medium heat slowly till golden brown. Do not heat oil on high as this will burn and not allow the dough to cook well. Crispy and Yummy chekkalu are ready to eat. They can be stored for over a week in an air tight container! Cheers, Chandini

Mullangi pesarapappu kura (Raddish with moong dal)

Mullangi pesarapappu kura
Ingredients:
Mullangi dumpa (Raddish)(300-400gms peeled and dices into small cubes), 1 cup Mung Dal(yellow split mung washed and drained and boiled).
For the tempering
Hing(1/2 spn), mustard seeds (1spn),Red Chillies (4-6 as per taste), Curry leaves (8-10), Jeera (1/2 spn). Oil for tempering.

Method:
Healt oil in a wok add hing then mustard seeds once they splitter add curry leaves, red chillies and jeera. Now add the chopped raddish and fry for 5-7 mins. Now add some water and boil until the raddish is cooked. Now add turmeric powder(1/4th spn). Add salt and the boiled moong dal. give it a stir and taste for salt. Serve hot.

Cheers,
Chandini

Chinese Style- Chilli Chicken

This spicy hot chilli chicken is the best accompaniment to fried rice or good even when served as a snack/starter. Chilli Chicken Recipe: Ingredients: For the marinade: Boneless chicken 250-300gms(cleaned and diced into bite size cubes), one egg white, 1spn cournflour, 1spn maida/white flour, 1/4th spn lime jiuce, salt, ajinomotto, food colour(optional), 1/4th spn chilli powder/ white pepper. 1/4th spn ginger-garlic paste. For the final finish: A large Wok. Oil (2-3 spns)Finely chopped garlic(6-8 pods),6-8 long slit green chillies(can be changed according to the taste), Cubes of bell pepper (green and red/yellow),1 white onion(diced into cubes just like the peppers). Chopped spring onions, salt, ajinomotto and soya sauce 1-2 spns. Method: Mix all the ingredients for the marinade with the chicken and keep aside for half hour in the fridge. Then deep fry individual chicken pieces in oil. Make sure that the oil is not too hot and you fry the chicken on a medium heat until it gets a golden colour. This will ensure that the chicken is cooked well. Remove the fried chicken on a tissue paper and keep aside. In a sepaprate Wok which can accomodate all the chicken pieces, heat oil (2-3spns). Add slit green chillies and garlic. Stir for a minute. Now add onions and stir for another minute. Add capcicum and stir for another minute or two. Now lower the flame and add salt, ajinomotto and soya sauce. To this add 2-3 spns of water stir and fried chcicken. Give it a good mix so that the sauce coats the chicken well. Put off the flame and place the lid on for a minute. Finally transfer into a serving bowl and sprinkle the greens of the spring onion. Serve hot!! Note: This will be dry and is best served as a snack, but you can also make a sauce. All you have to do is before you add the chicken add 2-3 cups of water and bring to a boil. In a cup add 2spns of cournflour and dilute in 1spn of cold water add this to the pan of boiling water by stiring quickly and bring to a boil. This will thicken the sauce. Just before serving add finely chopped coriander and the fried chicken. This will give a nice crunchy bite. Never add chicken and keep it in the sauce for long as this will make it soggy and is not at all delighful to eat.