Sabakha delight! (Dates shake)

Sabakha is one of the extreme sweet variety of the dates in gulf region. One date is good enough for two cups of sugary milk tea.

So basically it is a dates shake recipe. You can use any kind of dates for this shake.

There is a trick to make this yum shake. You need to grind dates n sugar n vanilla essence for a bit longer time first.

Ingredients for 2 glasses full of shake.

1/2 Cup of Sabakha or any kind of dates

1/4 Cup sugar

1 Tbsp Vanilla essence

2 Cups of chilled milk

2 Cups of chilled/frozen water

Method –

1- In a mixi jar put in dates, sugar, vanila essence with little milk and grind it very well. For almost 2 minutes on regular intervals.

2- Now add milk and grind again.

3- Finally add water and blend well.

4- Serve immediately and if you have plans to serve later do blend it again before serving as dates paste will thicken up after sometime.

Akhrot ki laiya – forgotten Navabi recipes!

My father used to bring it from Rampur along with singhade ki kachri. All made in cow’s desi ghee. That tiny halwai shop owner told my father that how his forefathers left Kashi’s palaces and settled down in Rampur. Because his mother was so much in love with her mayka.

Pista lauz, this laiya and many other things are quite difficult to find now a days.

This recipe is all about fresh walnuts, milk boiling and consistency of the ghee. But to make things bit easier, used khoa and sugar instead of brown shakkar.

Ingredients –

2 Cups – Khoa

4 Cups – Fried and powdered walnuts

2 Cups of powdered sugar

1 Tbsp vanilla essence

2 Tbsps desi ghee

Method –

1- Turn on heat, In a big pan keep desi ghee, warm it.

2- Add khoa and fry on lowest heat until it turns light brown.

3- Add sugar and mix well.

4- Add walnuts powder and vanilla essence.

5- Fry on lowest flame until oil starts leaving the material.

6- Close immediately and pour in a container.

7- Garnish with full walnut giri.

Cashewlicious – The mint salty smoothie!

Benefits of cashews and mint with curd in one go.

Ingredients –

1- 1/4 Cup cashews

2- 1 Medium sized cucumber

3- 1 Cup curd

4- 1 Small green chilly chopped

5- 1 Tbsp Sendha salt

6- 1 Tsp sugar

7- 1 Tsp black pepper powder

8- 2 Cups of chilled water

9- 3-4 Ice cubes (optional)

Method – Grind (blend) all ingredients except water and ice cubes in a mixi pot.

Now pour in water with ice cubes and grind(blend) very well. Serve immediately.

Pindi chhole bhaturey recipe!

Will not take much of your time. Just a simple way to give a recipe which will make you a rocking star in family. My humble thanks to my FaceBook friend and renowned chef Mr. Bharat Khemani ji for this recipe and being around for two hours online when I was in the kitchen. Earth is beautiful because such people become your virtual family.

Please do try and let me know how was it?

For bhature –

1- 6 Cups of maida (all purpose flour)

2- 2 Cups of semolina (suji any kind of)

3- 4 Cups of thick curd

4- 1 Cup of desi ghee(Yes 1 Cup)

5- 1/2 cup of refind oil

6- 2 Tbsps of ajwain(carom seeds)

7- 2 Tbsps of kasuri methi

8- 2 Tbsps of salt

9- 1 Tbsps of Sugar

10- 1 Cup water

11- 1 Tsp baking soda

12- 2 Tbsp Baking powder

Method –

1- Mix curd, desi ghee, refind oil, sugar, salt, baking soda and baking together and whisk well.

2- Mix in suji first and whisk well.

3- Now add maida and start kneading. Mix in little water if required. Dough has to be very tight.

4- Knead it very well for 10-15 minutes. Cover with lukewarm water dipped cloth and cover with lid.

5- When you make bhaturas, please grease your palms, use fresh oil with little desi ghee in it and try to make thin layer of bhatura for crispy ones and thick layer of the dough for the soft ones.

For chhole –

1- Soaked 8 cups of chhole overnight.

2- Washed them very well in the morning.

3- Kept them in heavy bottom big 5 ltr capasity cooker with equal qty water.

4- Now add salt according to taste and 1 tbsps each of haldi(turmeric powder, cloves powder, garlic powder, hari elaichi (green cardamom) powder, black pepper powder, ginger powder, anardana powder, javitri powder, methidana powder, saunf powder, cinnamon powder and few leaves of tej patta.

5- Now add 2 cups of blackened tea decotion(made with 6 tbsps of tea leaves with 2 cups of water).

6- Add 1 cup of raw palak puree as well.

7- A big chunk of tamarind and few big thick cloves of garlic.

8- If you have readymade garam masala and biryani powder/dal makhani powder you can add that as well.

9- Mix well and boiled on high for one whistle and later on lower the flame and take 6-7 whistles.

10- Strain the chanas in a big bowl.

11- Add the chana to a big heavy bottom pan. Turn on the flame to high first than lower the flame. Now sprinkle 1 cup of grated fresh ginger and chopped green chillies over the chana and mix well. Add 8-10 tbsps of chana masala over it. Mix well.

12- Take desi ghee and refind oil mix approx two cups in a non stick pan. Add two big grated onions and fry until golden dark brown and now add 1 big grated tomato to it and fry well.

13- Pour oil ghee mix over the chanas. Fry very well for 5-10 minutes on high. Keep frying for 8-10 minutes. Now start adding chana water to it and keep smashing few of chanas with laddle.

14- Add all water and keep frying. After 10 minutes close the flame and serve with piping hot bhaturas.

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Orange(semolina)cake.

I must admit that it was a goof up by me actually. After mixing wet ingredients I found that maida(all purpose flour) is nowhere.

So it was suji(semolina) and wheat flour which extended their humble hand to me. ” Behen hum hai na”! They cheered me up!

So I gave it a try and found that cake was 80% gulped by my students in one go. Now I took the charge and saved last 2-3 slices for me and started writing this recipe.

Do try if you never ever baked a cake with semolina and whole wheat flour. It is an eye opening experience indeed.

Ingredients (makes a medium loaf) with method –

1 Cup semolina (suji) fine quality

1/2 Cup whole wheat flour

1 Tbsp Baking powder

1/2 Tsp Baking soda

(Mix all these together in a big bowl)

1/2 Cup full fat milk with 1/4 cup drinkable water (not tap water)

Warm it on high in microwave for 1 minute.

Mix this hot water n milk mix in the dry ingredients very well and keep aside covered.

Turn the oven on 250 degrees.

Wet ingredients –

2 Eggs (Medium sized)

1/2 Cup refind oil or desi ghee(butter oil)

1 Tsp Orange essence

1 Cup powdered sugar(powdered only)

One orange’s skin grated (around 2 tbsps)Only orange part.

This orange’s juice strained(seeds removed)

Mix all these very well with a hand whisk.

Mix semolina mixture to this mixture. Whisk it well.

Pour it in a pan and slide it in oven.

Now change the temperature for 200 degrees.

Bake it for 35-40 minutes.

Let the oven bake it and take it out after baking done only. Let it be there for more 10-15 minutes when baking stops after 35-40 minutes.

Now take it out and scrape from the corners and keep this in fridge or cooling outside on kitchen counter covered.

Slice and serve later.