BOONDI RAITA

Raita is not only makes the food interesting but it is also good for digestion. boondi raita is one of the most easier and straight raita recipe. Cucumber raita, onion-tomato raita and boondi raita are three of the most sought after raitas in Indian cuisine. I din't have much raita recipes on my blog. But will try to post more recipes of raitas here on my blog. In summers, I make raita almost everyday but it's not possible to click the pictures everyday.

INGREDIENTS:
200 gms Curd
50 gms Boondi
1/2 teaspoon Roasted Cumin Powder
1 Chopped Green Chilli[optional]
Salt as per taste
1 teaspoon Sugar
2 teaspoon Chopped Coriander

METHOD:
STEP 1 - Whisk the curd in a bowl with a hand whisker.

STEP 2 - Add salt, sugar and roasted cumin powder in it and mix well.

STEP 3 - Add besan ki boondi and chopped coriander and mix and raita is ready.[see notes]

Serve it with any pulao or biryani and enjoy.

NOTES: Boondi can be soaked first in warm water, as a result, they swell a little in size and become soft. Their entire crispiness is lost, they are squeezed of the excess water and then added to the curd.

TAWA PULAO

Tawa Pulao is one of the popular street foods of India. There are so many ways of making a pulao recipe. Tawa pulao is very common street food from Mumbai which is made on a same  tawa or a griddle in which the street vendors used to make their pav bhaji. Tawa pulao is nothing but cooked rice is sauteed with vegetables and spiced with pav bhaji masala. It is an easy and simple recipe which tastes delicious. You can make it for lunch box or for your meal on a busy day without much effort. If you like schezwan fried rice then you will love this Mumbai style tawa pulao. It's like a fusion of pav bhaji and a fried rice into a single dish. It is very sinple, easy and quick recipe and tastes irresistible. Just give a try for this recipe and share your views. Here is the step by step recipe. Hope you like it.

INGREDIENTS:
For making rice:
2 Cups Basmati Rice[long grained]
3 and 1/2 Cup of Water
Salt as required

Other Ingredients:
2 Medium sized Onions, chopped finely
2 Large Tomatoes, chopped finely
1 Big Capsicum, chopped
3-4 tablespoon Green Peas
2 teaspoon Ginger-Garlic Paste
1 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
1/2 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
2-3 teaspoon Pav Bhaji Masala
Salt as per taste
1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds
2 tablespoon Butter
1 tablespoon Oil
1/2 teaspoon Lemon Juice
1 tablespoon Chopped Coriander

METHOD:
For making rice:
STEP 1 - Rinse the rice under running water till the water will become transparent during the rinse.[see notes]

STEP 2 - Soak the rice for about 30 minutes in a bowl.

STEP 3 - Now pressure cook the rice with the ingredients given under title 'For making rice'for three whistles. The grains should be separate and cooked well.

STEP 4 - Let  the rice cool and then you can proceed with the rest of the procedure.

For making rice:
STEP 1 - In a wide kadai or pan, add oil and butter.

Let melt the butter and then add the cumin seeds in it.

STEP 2 - Add ginger-garlic paste and onion in it and cook well till the raw smell goes away.

STEP 3 - Then add finely chopped tomatoes and capsicum in it.

STEP 4 - Cook well and now add all the spice powders, mix well and saute the whole mixture till you see butter releasing from the sides.

STEP 5 - Add green peas and sprinkle salt and stir.

STEP 6 - Add cooked rice and gently and uniformly mix the veggies with the rice.

STEP 7 - Finally, garnish with chopped coriander,

drizzle some lemon juice and serve.

Serve the hot tawa pulao with any type of your favorite raita accompanied with papad and pickle.

Here I served it with fresh boondi raita and onion slices.

NOTES: *If there is starch in the water, then the rice becomes sticky. So wash it well.
               * You can add finely chopped potato and carrots also.
               *You can cook the rice in a vessel directly on the gas stove.
The recipe of boondi raita is shared separately in my blog under title ' RAITAS' .

HOMEMADE CHOCOBAR ICECREAM

Chocobar is one of my favourite ice cream ever, I love to make and eat  ice creams without any occasion whenever I crave for it. I tried kulfis, rose milk popsicles before but never tried a coated ones. So tried this.When chocolate and ice cream mix together, nothing can beat this combination. Chocobar is nothing but  a vanilla ice cream inside covered with crunchy chocolate. I have been dreaming about this for quite a long time. Finally, I made it today and sharing it with you immediately because I couldn't wait more. I am quite thrilled so don't want to make you more curious about it. Hope you will give a try and let me know about your experience.

INGREDIENTS:
Outer Crust:
1/3 Cup Dark Chocolate[or you can use milk chocolate]
2 -3 tablespoon Chopped Almonds[optional]
Inner Creamy Part:
1 Cup Whip Cream
1/4 Cup Powdered Sugar
1 3/4 Cup Milk
1/3 Cup Milk Powder

METHOD:
Inner Creamy Part:
STEP 1 - Take a bowl and pour the cream in it. Whip the cream till semi stiff peaks.

STEP 2 - Add powdered sugar in it and whisk it properly again.

STEP 3 - Now add vanilla essence and milk powder, fold it and mix it well.

STEP 4 - Keep it in freezer for about 3-4 hours.

Outer Crust:
STEP 1 - By the time melt chocolate by double boiler method.

STEP 2 - Add chopped nuts in it if adding it.
How to proceed:
STEP 1 - Pour a spoonful of chocolate in the Popsicle mould, cover it from all sides and remove the extra chocolate from it.

STEP 2 - Keep the mould for 2 minutes in the fridge. After that clean the edges of the mould.

STEP 3 - Now take the solidified ice cream mix from the freezer and fill the mould with the ice cream mix. Clean the mould properly.

STEP 4 - Keep the mould in the freezer for 3-4 hours or until the chocobar get firm..

STEP 5 - After 3-4 hours remove the popsicle mould from freezer, keep the popsicle mould in water for 2-3 minutes.
STEP 6 - Gently remove the chocobar and serve the homemade chocobar to your dear ones.

Serve chilled or slice them and serve them on a platter.