Mango Milkshake - How to make Mango Milkshake

Mango milkshake is one of the easiest and yummiest milkshakes that is been loved by almost everyone. Very few ingredients and little effort of yours and you can sip this heavenly milkshake in minutes. I used Banganapalli for this as it gives the best taste. You can also try it with any mango varieties. 

Ingredients

Chopped mangoes - 1.5 cup
Cold milk - 1.5 - 2 cups (adjust as per your taste)
Sugar - 2-3 tbsp (adjust as per taste)

Method

1. Add chopped mangoes and sugar in a blender and blend until smooth.
2. Then add the chilled milk and blend again until smooth. Check for the sugar and add more and blend well until you reach the desired consistency and sweetness. Pour it into glasses and enjoy!!

Notes

• Use chilled milk else there are chances for the milk to curdle.
• Choose ripe, juicy and sweet mangoes for the best taste. Avoid mangoes that are fibrous.
• Reduce and adjust sugar according to the sweetness of the mangoes. You can also add cardamom powder or saffron if you like your milkshake more flavorful

Red Bell Pepper Tomato Chutney

Red Bell Peppers/Capsicum is one vegetable which is rich in vitamins and nutrients.  Red bell peppers are the ripe version of green bell peppers and hence they have a sweet taste. They have double the amount of vitamin C and are 10 times rich in Vitamin A. They are rich source of anti-oxidants. They are a great source of Vitamin B6 and minerals. They grow in different colors varying from green, red, yellow, orange etc. Making a chutney out of this versatile veggie is a good way to start a day with. This  chutney is a nice accompaniment for idly, dosa, adai or pongal. Now to the recipe!!

Ingredients

Red Bell Pepper - 1, chopped into 1" pieces
Tomatoes - 2, chopped
Onion - 1, chopped
Garlic - 4 or 5 cloves
Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp

Salt and Oil as required

Dry roast

Channa dal - 1 tbsp
Urad dal - 1 tbsp
Dry red chillies - 2 (adjust as per taste)
Cumin - 1 tsp

For Tempering

Oil, mustard seeds, curry leaves, dry red chillies and hing

Method

1. Heat a pan, dry roast the ingredients mentioned under "Dry roast" and set aside.
2. Add oil in the heated pan, add garlic and saute for a minute. Then add the onions and saute until they turn transparent. Now add the tomatoes and fry until they turn mushy. After that add the red bell pepper and coriander leaves. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until the red bell pepper is half cooked. Allow to cool down.
3. Blend the dry fried ingredients to a coarse powder and then add the bell pepper, tomatoes mixture along with salt and grind to a fine paste
4. Do the tempering and add to the chutney. Serve with any kind of idly or dosa.

Cheese Stuffed Chapathi - Cheese Chapathi

This Cheese stuffed chapathi is another kid friendly dish. You can prepare this for breakfast or snacks or even for the dinner time. I had not stuffed too much cheese as I prepared this for my kids dinner time. Adjust the cheese stuffing as per your kids taste buds. Now to the recipe...

Ingredients

Whole wheat flour - 1 cup
Warm water - 1/2 cup approximately
Oil - 1 tsp
Salt as per taste
Shredded Cheese - 1/2 cup. Adjust as per your taste and need.

Method

• Knead the dough as you will do for regular Chapathi's. Click here for step by step instructions. Cover the dough and set aside.
• If you are using cheese cubes, grate them and keep ready.
• Divide the kneaded dough into equal parts and roll them into smooth balls. We need 2 balls for making one stuffed chapathi.
• Take 2 balls and roll them separately as thin as possible. Spread about one tablespoon of cheese on one layer, cover with the other layer and gently press through the edges so that they get sealed.
• Now, heat the skillet, cook the stuffed chapathi both sides on medium flame. I did not add any oil/ghee. You can also add if you prefer. Serve with tomato ketchup!!

Dosa Paneer Roll

One fine evening when I was looking for options for preparing the evening snack for my son, all I had was a little dosa batter and some paneer in the refrigerator. I was not in a mood to prepare a side dish for that. Was thinking if I could do something with the paneer. I just thought why not give a tangy flavor to the paneer and stuff it in the dosa.  Needless to say this tasted good. I just used some basic ingredients, you can try with your own combo. Now, to the recipe!

Ingredients

Dosa batter - for preparing dosas
Oil/ghee - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Onion - 1, finely chopped
Tomato - 1, finely chopped
Garlic - 1 or 2, minced finely
Capsicum - 1 tbsp, finely chopped
Crumbled Paneer - 1/4 cup or 4 tbsp
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Tomato sauce - 1 1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves - for garnish
Salt, turmeric powder and chilli powder as per taste

Optional Ingredients - green chilli, carrot, mashed potato, cooked peas, methi leaves etc.

Method

Heat oil/ghee in a pan and add the cumin seeds. Once it stplutters add the garlic and saute for few mins. Then add the onion, fry until they turn translucent. Then add the capsicum and tomato, tomato sauce, salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder, garam masala and saute until the tomatoes are mashed and cooked well.

Then, add the tomato sauce, mix well and then add the crumbled paneer. Give a nice stir and cook until all the flavors blend together. Do not over cook, else the paneer will turn rubbery. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Prepare dosa

Heat a dosa pan and prepare small dosas. Cook them on both sides and transfer them to a wide plate. Take a spoonful of the paneer stuffing and spread them evenly all over the dosa. Roll the dosa like a wrap, cut them diagonally and serve it. You don't need any side dish for this, as the tomatoes and the tomato sauce makes the filling moist which in turn results in a soft and tangy dosa. Yummiieee and filling dosas are ready to be enjoyed.

Kulfi Ice Cream-Kesar Badam Kulfi-Kesar Malai Kulfi

Summer is here. Cold desserts are always a boon to beat away the heat. Kulfi is a very popular Indian ice cream which has a creamy texture and an extremely awesome taste, which is very simple to prepare as it doesn't need any whipping. All you need are the basic ingredients which are usually available in your kitchen. All that we need is some milk, sugar, corn flour, some almonds or even pistachios and a few strands of saffron. You can also use fresh cream instead of corn flour. I prefered the low fat option. Go ahead with your own choice and prepare this whenever you feel like eating a Kulfi!!

Ingredients

Full fat milk - 1 ltr (I used 2% milk)
Corn flour - 1 tbsp
Sugar - 1/3 cup
Almonds - 8-10 nos, finely chopped
Saffron strands - few

Method

1. Soak saffron in some warm milk (1 tbsp) and keep it aside. 
2. Dissolve the corn flour in some water, say 1 or 2 tbsp and set aside.
3. Add the milk to a wide pan, preferably a non-stick one and bring to a boil. Scrape down the sides and stir now and then to avoid sticking to the sides and bottom. Add the dissolved corn flour and sugar and mix well. Also add the saffron dissolved milk. Heat over medium flame, scraping and stirring every now and then until the milk thickens and reduces to half of the original quantity.
4. Cool completely. Pour into the kulfi moulds or in any freezer safe bowl and freeze for atleast 5 to 6 hours or until set.
5. To unmould, allow the moulds to remain outside the refrigerator for 3-5 minutes and then unmould. Or you can also run some cold water over the moulds and your job is instantly done. 
6. Start digging in immediately :)