Coconut empanadas/ Indian Sweet gujiya/ Gujarati ghughra

This recipe is traditional Gujarati Recipe from Gujarat India.  Traditionally with made from Gram and wheat flour. We grow up eating Ghughra stuffed with coconut and nuts stuffing. Simple easy to make and just right for the sweet tooth buds. I gave the title Empanadas since it looks and made in the same way. This recipe calls for the charoli(Charoli are tiny almond-flavoured dried seeds of a bush called Buchanania lanzan, which is cultivated across India, primarily in the northwest. After the hard shell is cracked, the stubby seed within is as soft as a pine nut.) 

You can find charoli in any Indian grocery store. If can not find it then simply use any nuts, pine nuts can be a good substitute. unsweetened coconut also can be find at indian grocery but if not then just use the sweetened and add 2 tablespoons of powder sugar instead. Lets get started with the recipe. 

Ingredients - 

for stuffing:

2 cups - shredded coconut( unsweetened) 

2 tablespoon  - Golden raisins

2 tablespoon- chopped cashews

1/4 cup-  chopped or sliced almonds

1 tablespoon poppy seeds( khus khus)

1/4 cup powder sugar

1/2 teaspoon- crushed cardamom/ cardamom powder 

1 tablespoon- charoli(optional) either use pinenuts

oil to fry

Mix all the ingredianet in a bowl. It should look like this.

For the dough:

2 cup- flour

1/2 cup- ghee(clarified butter)

water

 Mix the ghee in to the flour and give it a good massage until the flour soaks all the ghee. Add water in small amount, keep adding the water until it forms in the dough. It should look like this. add a little ghee to smooth the dough. 

 Cover the dough with the damped towel for 10 minutes.

Roll dough out on a lightly floured board to circles about 3-4 inches in diameter.

Place a spoonful of filling on one side of the circle. Moisten the edges of the circle with a small amount of water and fold the dough over the filling to make a half circle. Press the edges together to seal. if you can fold the edges to make a little design then go ahead and do it. It's fun!

Make one at a time and put those Ghughra( empanadas) in to the bowl covering damped towel. Damped towel would help pastry from drying. Now heat the oil in the fryer or deep pan. Fry those Ghughra until golden. 

This is the final product. I know i should post few more pictuers of showing how to fold and roll the pastries. I'll do that hopefully soon.Hope you guys enjoy this recipe. This can be really good snacks with the tea or coffee or any hot beverages.

Baking Instructions: Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes on lightly greased pan.

        

Please comment if you have any questions. Thanks!

Stuffed Spaghetti Squash with vegetables & Mozzarella cheese

Ingrediants

1 Small Spaghetti squash

1 medium tomato

3 celery stalk

1 Red pepper or Green is fine too

1 medium onion chopped

2 cloves garlic chopped

1/2 Green chilli seed removed and chopped

2/4 cup spaghetti sauce

1/4 teaspoon dry thyme

 1/4 teaspoon dry basil

1/4 teaspoon dry parsley

1/4 teaspoon oregano

salt and pepper to taste

3 tablespoon olive oil

mozzarella cheese

2 tablespoon Cilantro chopped  

 

Method

Cut squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds. Put the water to boil in the pan. Cook squash in to the boiling water for 30 minutes in the cover pot. mean while in one pan heat the oil. Add garlic saute it for few seconds and add onions. cook the onions until tender, add pepper and celery. cook it for 1 minutes and add tomatoes, herbs, salt and pepper to taste. cook more 2 to 3 minutes on medium- low or until tomatoes are tender. by the time now squash should be done. cool down the squash with cold water scoop out the spaghetti and squash should look like a boat or a cup to stuff the veggies in. Add the spaghetti in to the vegetable mixture in the pan. add spaghetti sauce and coriander. cook it on low for 2 minutes. Preheat the oven on 400F.

Take a baking sheet Grease it lightly. Stuff the Squash boats with vegetable stuffing cover it with mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle it with lill paprika. Arrange those squash boats on the baking sheet. 

 Bake it in the oven for 30 minutes. Serve it hot.

Bread Pudding

This is one of my favorite recipe for the bread pudding. Morning Breakfast with bread pudding and a cup of coffee. yummy!

 

Ingredients

• 6 slices day-old bread
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 cup raisins (optional)
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups milk
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Break bread into small pieces into an 8 inch square baking pan. Drizzle melted butter or margarine over bread. If desired, sprinkle with raisins.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Beat until well mixed. Pour over bread, and lightly push down with a fork until bread is covered and soaking up the egg mixture.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly tapped.

Ina Garten's Espresso Ice Cream

saw Ina Garten making this superb ice cream. Made this ice cream few days before and it turned out so so so delicious that i got to taste only one mouthful and then the whole thing was gone.  my in-laws and my husband ate the rest. 

 

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 3 cups half-and-half
• 6 extra-large egg yolks
• 2/3 cup sugar
• Pinch salt
• 2 1/2 tablespoons ground espresso coffee beans, decaffeinated or regular
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 4 ounces (1/2 cup) chocolate-covered espresso beans, chopped

Directions

Heat the half-and-half until it forms bubbles around the edge of the pan and steam starts to rise. Meanwhile, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the egg yolks, sugar, and salt until mixed. Slowly add the hot half-and-half until combined. Wipe out the pan and pour the mixture back into the clean pan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for 5 to 10 minutes, until it's thickened and the cream coats the back of the spoon.
Pour the cream through a fine-meshed sieve into a bowl. Add the ground espresso beans and vanilla and refrigerate until completely chilled.

Pour the espresso cream into an ice-cream freezer and freeze according to the manufacturer's directions. Mix in the chopped espresso beans, spoon into a container, and allow to freeze for a few hours. Soften slightly before serving.

Tarragon-Rice Stuffed Mushrooms

I made this recipe last night and turn out pretty good. I found this recipe in Mayo clinic recipe book. I know you'll think healthy and tasty?? Yeah i was amazed how it turn out. I used to think tasty and healthy isn't a good combo. but anyways this recipe made me wrong. after this one i started making more healthy recipes with TASTE :) 

Ingredients:

18 large white mushrooms

1/4 cup canned fat-free chicken broth

1 shallot, minced

1/2 cup cooked, cold long-grain white rice

2 teaspoons light mayonnaise

2 or 3 fresh basil leaves, chopped

2 tablespoons freshly-grated parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon paprika


Method:

1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Remove the stems from the mushrooms and chop the stems finely.

2.In a nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat, bring the chicken broth to a boil. Add the shallot and mushrooms stems; cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 2 minutes.

3.In a medium-size bowl, combine the vegetable mixture, rice, mayonnaise, tarragon, and half the parmesan cheese.

4.Using a paper towel, wipe out the frying pan and place over medium heat. Add the olive oil and mushroom caps; saute until coated with oil, 20 to 30 seconds. Arrange the caps, stem end up, on a baking sheet. Mound about 2 teaspoons of the rice mixture in each cap. Sprinkle with the remaining parmesan cheese. NOTE: If made in advance, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 8 hours.

5.Bake until the cheese is lightly browned and the mushrooms are tender but still hold their shape, about 10 minutes. To serve, dust each cap lightly with paprika.

Banana and Butterscotch Muffins

Serving Size : Makes 12



Ingredients


3 very ripe bananas

125ml vegetable oil

2 eggs

250g flour

100g caster sugar

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

150g butterscotch (or chocolate) morsels

Directions

1.Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6 and line a 12-bun muffin tin with muffin papers.

2.Mash the bananas and set aside for a moment.

3.Pour the oil into a jug and beat in the eggs.

4.Put the flour, sugar, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder into a large bowl and mix in the beaten-egg-and-oil mixture, followed by the mashed bananas.

5.Fold in the butterscotch morsels, then place equal quantities in the prepared muffin tin – I use an ice cream scoop and a spatula – and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
one of my favourite muffins- recipe by nigella lawson

CHICKPEA SALAD

1 cup boiled chickpea

1 small potato boiled and cut into cubes

1 small Tomato chopped

1 tablespoon chopped onion
1 tsp chopped coriander leaves

1 chopped green chilli (optional)

2 tsp lime juie

1/4 tsp black salt

salt to taste

1 tsp chaat masala( optional)

Method 

Mix all ingredients well and chilli and serve it.

Rice pudding( Kheer)

                                                      Ingredients

3 - 4 cups of whole milk, diluted with 1 - 2 cups of water (The proportion of water will determine the thickness of the Kheer.)

1 cup rice (it is best to use an Indian variety like basmati rice)

1 cup condensed milk

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon raisins

1 tablespoon of dry nut pieces. (almonds or pistachio are best)

1 teaspoon finely powdered cardamom


Method


- Boil the rice in the milk on a medium flame until the rice is cooked.

- Make sure you stir frequently; otherwise your milk may burn at the bottom of the vessel.

- Add the condensed milk, sugar, raisins, and nuts. Stir till the sugar dissolves and the mixture thickens.

- Add the cardamom and serve hot.

Tips

1. If you do not want to slave in the kitchen, use cooked rice leftover from the previous meal. Make sure that your cooked rice did not have any salt in it.

2.  If you are counting the calories, you can replace milk with a non-dairy product. Use sugar-free supplements instead of sugar and you have an instant low-cal dessert.

Chicken Spaghetti

I  found this recipe from Ree Drummond's book. that was a simple an excellent recipe to cook and eat. so far this was the best spaghetti recipe i have tasted. if you are mushroom and chicken fan then you must try this. I bet ya you'll love it.

Ingredients

2 cups Cooked Chicken
3 cups Dry Spaghetti, Broken Into Two Inch Pieces
2 cans Cream Of Mushroom Soup
2 cups Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
¼ cups Finely Diced Green Pepper
¼ cups Finely Diced Onion
1 jar (4 Ounce) Diced Pimentos, Drained
2 cups Reserved Chicken Broth From Pot
1 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt
⅛ teaspoons (to 1/4 Teaspoon) Cayenne Pepper
Salt And Pepper, to taste
1 cup Additional Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Method
Cook 1 cut up fryer and pick out the meat to make two cups. Cook spaghetti in same chicken broth until al dente. Do not overcook. When spaghetti is cooked, combine with remaining ingredients except additional 1 cup sharp cheddar.


Place mixture in casserole pan and top with remaining sharp cheddar. Cover and freeze up to six months, cover and refrigerate up to two days, or bake immediately: 350 degrees for 45 minutes until bubbly. (If the cheese on top starts to get too cooked, cover with foil).