Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup flour (maida)

1/2 tsp baking powder

75 gms butter

1/2 cup chocochips

2 tbsp rice flour

6 tbsp castor sugar

1 tsp vanila essence

milk (as required)

Method:

• Sift the maida, baking powder and rice flour and keep aside.
• Mix the butter and sugar and whisk for 5-10 mins till its light and fluffy. Add vanilla essence.
• Mix the maida mixture and the butter with the help of a beater.
• Add the chocochips to the mixture and gather the flour with the help of hands to make a soft dough. Add milk if required.
• Roll the dough of 1/8" thickness and cut with the help of a cookie cutter. Prick the cookies with the help of a fork.
• Place the cookies on a baking tray and bake in a preheated over at 155 degree centigrade for 30 mins.
• Remove the cookies from the oven. Place the cookies on a wire rack and let them cool.
• Store in an airtight container once they are cooled.

Tips:

• You can use ready-made chocochips or chop the dark chocolate.
• Add one teaspoon of milk at a time to make the dough.
• You can use white butter instead of butter.
• Once the cookies are out from the oven, let them rest for 10 minutes, then with the help of spatula transfer them on a wire rack.
• Each oven has its own way of functioning, you will have to try out a few times before you start to understand. I have a small oven. If your oven is of a medium size you may have to bake the cookies at 160 degree centigrade for 25-30 mins.
• You can put a plastic or a cling film on the rolling board and then cover the dough again with the plastic or cling film and roll. This will make it easy.
• You may also make small ball place them on the aking try and with help of the back of a bowl press the ball of dough to make a cookie.
• All the ingredients should be at room temperature.
• The above recipe makes 15 cookies.

Dahi Chivda (Beaten Rice in Curd)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chivda (poha/beaten rice)

3/4 cup dahi

sugar 1 tbsp

pinch of elaichi powder (optional)

Method:

• Wash the chivda and let it drain in the colander for sometime.
• Whisk the dahi.
• Once the chivda has soaked the water and is soft add to the dahi.
• Add sugar and elaichi powder(green cardamom powder).
• Serve!!!

Tips:

• The time that the chivda should be soaked in water would depend upon the quality of the chivda. Some take very little time whereas some take a longer time.
• You can have this very chilled. Just add chilled dahi.
• this makes for a quick breakfast.
• You can replace sugar with honey.
• You can also add fruits of your choice. Fruits like mango, chikoo go well with dahi.
• You can also add a spoonfull of cornflakes or chocos for the crunch.

Watermelon Granita

Ingredients:

1 cup watermelon cubes

2 tsp strawberry crush

2 drops of ginger juice

1/2 tsp lemon juice

sugar(optional)

salt(optional)

Method:

• Make cubes of watermelon and discard the seeds. Place the cubes in airtight box and freeze it.
• In a blender add the watermelon cubes, strawberry crush, lemon juice, ginger juice, salt and sugar(optional).
• give a quick churn and serve.

Tips:

• Watermelon cubes should be granular hence do not blend the watermelon cubes too much.
• You can add fresh strawberry instead of strawberry crush.
• To make the ginger juice, grate the ginger and squeeze the juice.
• You can add black salt instead of normal salt.
• You can also add chaat masala.
• You can avoid the lemon juice.
• Sugar should be added depending on the required sweetness.

Methi Matar Malai

Ingredients:

1 cup methi leaves, chopped

1 "ginger, crushed to paste

4 cloves of garlic, crushed to paste

1 medium sized onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup green peas

1 /2 tsp shahi jeera

1 tsp fresh cream

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1/4 tsp white pepper powder

1/2 tsp kasoori methi

1 1/2 tsp oil

1 green chilli, finely chopped

1/2 tsp amchoor powder

pinch of cardamom

salt to taste

Method:

• Heat oil in a kadai on a medium high flame, add the shahi jeera, when it crackles add onion, cook till the onion turns translucent. Add the ginger and garlic and stir well.
• Add the methi leaves, green chilli and matar. Stir fry till the methi leaves and the green peas are cooked.
• Add the amchoor powder, white pepper powder and salt, mix well.
• Add fresh cream, milk and water and let the liquid reduce.
• Once the cream and milk reduces switch off the gas and sprinkle cardamom powder and kasoori methi.
• serve hot!

Tips:

• To give a rich texture increase the amount of oil and the cream. Add atleast 1 cup of cream and skip the milk however if the mixture is too thick add water.
• You can add sweet corn, baby corn instead of green peas.
• Methi should be cooked uncovered, it would normally take around 10-12 mins to cook.
• You can add a pinch of sugar to balance the flavours.
• Serve methi matar malai hot with roti or paratha!!