Jalebi

Whish u a happy and prosperous Diwali!.



(Img Source : Indiaglitz)

For every Diwali I used to try some new sweet. This time it is jalebi, I had many recipes for making jalebi from net, books and from our blogger friends. For so many days I was in puzzlement on selecting the recipe. Then finally I ended up in Asha’s jalebi recipe. It came out good. We loved it a lot. Thanks Asha……

I have used piping bag with small round hole tip to squeeze the jalebies out. I think an empty ketchup bottle can also be used, I use them for making funnel cakes.

There are many traditional ways to make jalebies, but this is one of the short cut methods to do one. These jalebies can be served warm. Warm jalebies are crispy than the normal ones.

Ingredients :

All purpose flour – 1 cup’
Yogurt – 1 tablespoon
Baking Powder – 1/8 teaspoon
Salt – ¼ teaspoon
Powder Sugar – 1 tablespoon
Yellow Food color – 1 pinch

For Sugar Syrup:

Sugar – 1 cup
Water – 2 cups
Cardamom Powder – ½ teaspoon
Saffron Strand – 1 pinch
Yellow Food color – 1 pinch

Procedure :

Mix all the ingredients for the jalebies and make a thick batter. The batter should be very thick. If the batter is thin the jalebies will be flat. Let the batter rest for 10 to 20 minutes.

Heat oil for deep frying. Fill the pipping bag or any other bottle with batter and hold it tight. Then make swirls like jalebies on the heated oil. Turn it over and fry till the bubble sounds is almost finished. Do not fry the jalebies for too long.

In the meanwhile make a medium thick sugar syrup with the above sugar syrup ingredient. It should be before 1 string consistency.

Remove the jalebies from the hot oil and drain them for a while and soak them in the sugar syrup when the jalebies are still hot. Soak them for 10 minutes and remove from syrup and serve them hot

Cheese Garlic Bread

Who wouldn’t like warm garlic bread? Absolutely my favorite. There are many ways to make one. This is my way of making garlic bread.

I love to add cheese to my garlic bread. This is a perfect snack for evening tea. Kids love this lot. This is a perfect accompaniment for soups. I always make this for soups, without cheese.

The one main good thing in home made garlic bread is that, the amount of butter and olive oil can be controlled by me. Butter can be reduced to cut the calories or fat intake.

Ingredients :

French loaf bread – 1 loaf
Garlic – 5 cloves (minced)
Shredded mozzarella cheese – 1 cup
Butter – ½ stick
Olive oil – ¼ cup
Dried Oregano – ½ teaspoon
Dried Basil – ½ teaspoon
Salt and Pepper

Procedure :

Combine garlic, butter, and oil in a small saucepan. Heat the mixture over moderate-low heat for 5 minutes.

Now add oregano and basil and mix it well. Remove from heat.


Slice the French loaf in an diagonal and arrange it on a sheet pan. Brush the garlic and butter mixture liberally on the sliced bread. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.


Toast it in a 350 degree oven for 5 mins or till light golden color.

Remove from oven and sprinkle the bread with cheese and return it to the oven, changing the settings to broil and broil for 5 minutes or till the cheese is melted and golden brown.

Watermelon Cooler

This is a very cool drink perfect for a hot summer day or for any party of the year.

This is a very simple drink which can be made very fast from very regular ingredients. I make this drink always for any get together in my house. It has been a hit every time. Kids love this so much.

I some time add fresh mint to this drink for some refreshing flavor. This melon ice balls are real fun to have. I always save some in the freezer to top it on ice creams or in some other dinks to get some watermelon flavor. The same can be done with other melon also.

Ingredients :

Watermelon cubes – 2 cups
Sugar Syrup – 2 tablespoon or more as needed
Lemon juice – 2 tablespoon
Water – ½ cup
Watermelon ice balls

Procedure :

In a large blender add all the above ingredients and blend it, strain and add to a large pitcher.

Using a melon baller, scoop watermelon balls and place them in a sheet pan and freeze it in advance. Add them to the watermelon cooler, they serve as ice cubes as well as garnish

Omm Podi / Sev

Sev or Omm podi is a very famous snack in both south and north part of India. This is a recipe followed in south.

This is a very easy snack which I always make and store it in my pantry. They are very helpful for making many more chats like Bel puri, Dhai puri, raita etc….

For any festival or get-together, this is the first snack Mom makes in my house. I love it a lot. There are many variations that can be made to this sev. I sometime add chili powder to make a spicy version of sev. But traditionally only ajwani is added to sev. The big advantage for this snack is that, it is made with all simple ingredients and it can be made very quickly.

Ingredients :

Besan – 1 cup
Rice flour – 1 tablespoon
Ajwani – 1/4 teaspoon
Turmeric powder – 1/8 teaspoon
Salt – ½ teaspoon
Curry leaves – 10

Procedure :

Mix besan, rice flour, and turmeric powder, salt.

Powder the ajwani very fine and mix with the above mixture.

Add enough water and make a thick batter.

Grease the idiappam mold with oil and fill the batter in the mould.

Heat oil in a pan and press the mould with batter no the hot oil like an idiappam and deep fry it.

Remove from oil and drain it on a paper towel. Repeat this till the batter is finished and stacks all the deep fried ones in a bowl.

Deep fry the curry leaves and adds to bowl, let it cool. Now crush the sev with hands into small pieces.

Mexican Chicken Tortilla Soup

This is a hearty soup perfect for any time of the day. It is loaded with vegetables and makes a satisfying lunch or dinner.

In a traditional tortilla soup, corn tortillas are deep fried and added to the soup. But to make the work simpler I have used corn tortilla chips for the topping of the soup. The crunchiness of the chips pairs very good with this soup.

This can be made as a complete vegetarian soup by avoiding shredded chicken and replacing vegetable broth for chicken broth. Both the version tastes so good. The fresh oregano makes a lot of different in the soup. But some time when I run out them I use dried ones also.

Ingredients :

Shredded cooked chicken – 1 ½ cups
Onions, diced – 2 medium
Carrots, cubed – 1 big
Celery, cubed – 2 stalk
Corn kernels – ¼ cup
Garlic cloves, minced – 3 to 4
Chopped Fresh Oregano - 2 Teaspoon
Jalapeno, seeded and minced – 1
Ripe medium tomatoes – 3
Chicken stock – 1 quart box
Extra-virgin olive oil – 2 tablespoon
Salt as required
Cilantro leaves – 1 bunch
Tortilla chips – 1 cup for topping

Procedure :

1. Place a stockpot over medium heat and add olive oil. Add the onions, garlic and all other veggies and stir for 10 mins until the veggies cook.

2. Then add the jalapenos and tomatoes and cook for few more minutes. Then add the chopped oregano and half of the cilantro.

3. Now pour in the stock and check for seasoning. Simmer for 20 minutes. Finally add the shredded cooked chicken and stir the soup. Serve with chopped cilantro.

Shrimp Cutlet

This is a perfect snack for any type of party. Got this recipe from a old cook book. I have made a miniature version of a shrimp cutlet; this can be made as a big size or a jumbo size cutlet also.

I have added curry powder extra to the original recipe. I think curry powder make a lot of difference in this cutlet. This cutlet recipe became our family’s favorite right away when first tried. I follow the same recipe for making fish cutlet also, will post it soon.

I always like to deep fry my cutlets bcoz, I feel that deep frying absorb less oil then shallow frying, this may sound weird but I feel so…..

Ingredients :

Fresh shrimp – 10 (big)
Onions – 1 medium
Green chillies – 2
Potatoes – 1 medium
Ginger garlic paste – 1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder – ¼ teaspoon
Chille powder – ¼ teaspoon
Coriander powder – ½ teaspoon
Curry powder – 1 teaspoon
Fennel seeds – 1 teaspoon
Coriander leaves – ½ handful
Egg – 1
Bread Crumbs – ½ cup
Salt as required
Oil for deep frying

Procedure :

1. Cook the shrimp with some salt and turmeric powder. Cook potatoes and mash it and set it aside.

2. Add oil in a pan and fennel seeds let is turn golden brown, then add minced onions and green chillies and sauté it for 2 minutes.

3. In the meanwhile pulse the cooked shrimp in the food processor. (Don’t make it as a paste).

4. Now add ginger garlic and all other masala powder to the sautéing onions. Fry them until the raw smell of the masala are gone.

5. Then add the finely minced shrimp and sauté till every thing is mixed. Finally add the chopped coriander leaves. Let the mixture cool little bit.

6. Add the mashed potato to the shrimp mixture and knead it well and check for salt. Then make it to desired shape (I have made small balls).

7. Spread bread crumbed in one plate and beat the egg in another plate. Season both the egg and bread crumbs if needed.

8. Heat oil in a pan. Take one shrimp ball and dip it into the egg and then roll it on the bread crumbs until coated fully. Then deep fry it in the oil until they are golden brown. It will take only 2 minutes.