Tuesday 24 November 2015

Recipe: Spicy Chicken Wrap - Healthy and Tasty !!





I am a lover of wraps because I believe they are full filling and kind of complete meal in themselves. Making wraps have no fixed rules you can add as many veggies, sauces, cheese or  meat to it to make it richer or healthier. These days I am exploring the healthier version of the food. As definitely by  adding cheese, butter, mayo to the dish do make wraps and sandwiches yummy but what if we don't add it...Well, you can still enjoy it. Find the simple and easy recipe to make the chicken wrap at home without much hassle.

Chicken Wrap :
Serves 4 wrap
Takes 40 minutes


Ingredients:

400 gms Boneless Chicken Pieces
1 Tomato
1 finely chopped onion
2-3 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
1 1/2 tsp Everest Chicken Masala
1/2 tsp Garam Masala
1/2 Coriander powder
1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 tsp red chilli powder( adjust acc to your taste)
Salt as per taste


For Toppings:
Coriander leaves
1/2 Sliced Onions
1/2 cup Cabbage


Method:

Make regular wholewheat chapatis/ rotis.
Heat 1/2 tsp oil in a pan, add cumin seeds after 1 min add onions.
Saute onion for 2 mins add finely chopped garlic. Saute for 5-7 minutes till the colour change to golden brown.
Add all the masala and allow it to cook for 8-10 minutes.
When the color of the masala changes and it starts leaving the pan add the chopped tomato cubes.
Allow it to cook till the tomatoes are cooked and have become mushy. Add the small chicken pieces and salt.
Allow it to cook till the chicken are done. Cook till the water evaporates and the mixture turns dry. Just make sure you don't make it too dry so that you can still enjoy some gravy which would act as the sauce.
Let the mixture cool for some time.
Spread the mixture on the chapati and top it up with some cabbage and onions. (You can add other veggies too as per your preference)
Roll it up and you can grill it on Tawa or Sandwich maker. I did it on Sandwich maker .
You can brush some oil over the roll before grilling. (Optional)

The step wise pictures are as follows:










And your wraps are ready. Enjoy it with some chutney or sauce of your choice.

 You can use any leftover vegetable or curry in the wrap. You can have it as any meal as per your preference.



Please share your feedback/suggestions and comments.


Enjoy !!









Wednesday 18 November 2015

Recipe: Mint- Yogurt Dip - Quick and Refreshing



Mint yogurt dip tastes totally amazing. You can enjoy this with any appetizer (tikka , cutlets or parathas) as it gives a good refreshing twist to the regular chutney or even you can have it with any meal as raita.

 

Mint Yogurt Dip:

Ingredients :

Mint Leaves - 1 cup
Yogurt (Curd) – 1/2 cup
Green chilies – 2
Salt – 2 pinch
Black salt – 2 pinch

Method :

Blend together all ingredients for 2 minutes and its ready :)

See I told you its quick and easy. Try it out....

 

Recipe: Tomato Soup - The Healthy Version

A bowl of tomato soup is always soothing and comforting. I enjoy tomato soup in any weather (usually people prefer in winters). There are many versions of tomato soup available at restaurants or people make at home. My version of soup is neither creamy nor do I add cornflour but tastes amazing. It is suggested to have soup before dinner to all the weight watchers.

Tomato Soup
Serves 3
Takes 30 minutes


Ingredients:

 3 big sized Tomatoes
1 Onion
5-6 cloves garlic
1/2 Tsp Ginger
1/2 Tsp Butter
1/2 Tsp Garam masala
1/2 Tsp Cumin seeds
Salt as per taste
Pinch of Sugar


For Garnishing:
Coriander leaves
Paneer( Optional)


Method:

Heat a pan and add butter.
Add the cumin seeds and after 2 minutes add all the ingredients together.
Allow them to cook for 10-12 minutes, till the tomatoes are cooked and have become pulpy.
Cool the mixture and then grind it into a fine paste.
Strain it through a strainer and now add water as per the desired consistency.
Boil the soup in the pan for 5-7 minutes. Adjust salt and add pinch of sugar.

and Taddaaa.... the tasty Tomato soup is ready. Sprinkle some coriander leaves for garnishing. You can add cornstarch if you want the soup to be thick. Some people also prefer to add cream to the soup to make it more rich. You can toast some bread pieces on the Tawa and enjoy them with the hot soup.
I love paneer so I added few paneer cubes to my soup to make it more yum :)


Wednesday 4 November 2015

Recipe: Sambar - Yummy and Healthy !


Sambar is one of the main items of South Indian cuisines. Sambar is served in various combinations with rice, idli, dosa, etc. I am a big sambhar lover and can have it as soup in my any meal. It is very nutritious as the pulses are loaded with lots of vegetables and at the same time it is  tasty too. Lots of people make Sambar in a different style. I am sharing my version of Sambar, hope you will like it. And yes, feel free to get in touch if have any questions or suggestions.

Sambar
Serves 4
Takes 40 minutes


Ingredients:

 1 and 1/2 cup Tur Daal
2 Tomatoes
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1 finely chopped onion
2 cup bitter goud
1 brinjal
1/4 cup tamarind
2-3 cloves garlic
1 carrot ( medium sized)
3 tsp Everest Sambhar Powder
1/2 Coriander powder
1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds
 1 tsp red chilli powder( adjust acc to your taste)
Salt as per taste
Pinch of Hing powder

For Seasoning:
1 and 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
7-8 Curry Leaves


Method:

Soak daal for 10 minutes. Pressure cook daal and add 1 tomato, turmeric and salt to it. Make sure it is cooked.
Heat some oil in a pan and add cumin seeds after 1 minute add onions, fry for next 2 minutes.
Add chopped garlic, tomatoes, and all the vegetables you want to add to sambar.
Add sambar powder, salt, red chilli powder, coriander powder. Cook the vegetables for 15 minutes at low flame.
Now add all the cooked vegetables to the cooker containing tur daal.
Pressure cook daal along with vegetables again for next 10 minutes.
Open the cooker and add tamarind or lemon as per the taste.
Add tempered mustard seeds and curry leaves.


Taddaaaa.... Tasty sambar is ready. You can adjust the consistency as per your taste. I like the soupy one. Now, enjoy the delicious sambar with idli or dosa.





Friday 30 October 2015

Restaurant Review: Rockville Bar and Diner, CBD Belapur

Rockville Bar and Diner, CBD Belapur is one of the many cool pubs which are in Belapur. My visit to this place happened when I was in search of a good place to celebrate my first anniversary. As usually, I was browsing Zomato to find the same. After reading good reviews about the place decided to make a visit.This review contains only a few pictures as the lighting of the place was not supporting it much.

Ambiance: I visited the place around 7 pm ( to avail the most out of the "Happy Hours" :P), so the place was empty. We decided to sit in the area near to the big screen. The have three sections I suppose, one was an open area near the bar, the second had a sitting area like normal restaurants and the third was a cozy area with a big screen. The ambiance was nice, dark with blue lightning. The music was at very less volume( as I guess there was no crowd at the moment), so we asked them to volume up the music which they did after asking for it twice, but the good part was it was not very loud so that you can't even hear another person.
Rating : 4/5



Service: Service according to me was a bit slow. As we were sitting there for 10 minutes in the starting but no one came up to attend us. The staff who attended us was not very aware of there own menu and gave confused looks. Since, in the "Happy hours" they offer some complimentary drink to the ladies, therefore I was offered one but was told that I can't share it with others ( some rules they have !). The waiter was literally keeping an eye on us till the time I didn't finish the drink, which was a bit irritating but rules are rules and I guess he was just doing as instructed.
Rating: 3/5

Food: Ok, so the important part food. We ordered a tandoori non-veg platter which had many variants of chicken tikka which was good, tasty and fulfilling. The next thing which we ordered was Chicken Amritsari in which they had stuffed minced chicken pieces in  an Egg Omelette and that was served in tangy tomato gravy which was good to eat. The Rotis were warm and crisp. 
Rating: 4.5/5

Things I tried: Non-veg platter, Chicken Amritsari, Tandoori Roti, Cosmopolitan Cocktail

Will I visit again: Hmm, Not sure ( as there are many other pubs also in the area to would like to explore them first)

                                              Noooo, I didn't have it.. It is just a decor :P
                                                                    Cosmopolitan

My opinion and words are not biased and the review is totally based on my experience at the restaurant. But rightly said, “Food is subjective and everyone has own taste” so kindly exercise your own discretion, with the understanding that this is reviewer’s personal opinion.
Rockville Bar & Diner Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Wednesday 28 October 2015

Recipe: Coconut Chutney with Tomatoes.. A Tangy Twist !!



South Indian food is incomplete without coconut chutney. The traditional coconut chutney is simply made by mixing coconut with curd ( usually what we get in restaurants) I always wanted to make some change in the traditional recipe. So, I added tomatoes and onion to it and the result was really nice. I liked the color and flavor of this variant. So, you can also try it to see how it works for you :)

Coconut Chutney: 

Takes 10 minutes

Ingredients:

 Half coconut medium sized
1/2 tsp Oil
2 Green chilies
1 Onion
1 Tomato
1/2 tsp Channa dal
1 tsp Cumin seeds
2 tsp Curd
Salt to taste

For Tempering:

1 tsp Mustard seeds
7-8 Curry leaves


Method:

Heat oil in the pan and add the cumin seeds.
After 2 minutes add the green chilies, add onion and tomatoes.
Add salt, cook all together for 5 minutes.
Add the coconut pieces and cook again for next 5 minutes.
Allow it to cool, then add the mixture in the jar and add curd don't add water. Adjust the consistency with curd.
Blend it together into a fine paste.
Add tempered mustard seeds and curry leaves.




Tadddaaa...coconut chutney is ready. Serve it with any dish you want to have. Try it and share your feedback :)




Enjoy !

Tuesday 27 October 2015

Recipe: Rava Idli - Healthy and Tasty !!



Rava Idli is always my favorite because they are "fast to cook and good to eat" :) They don't require that much effort and time as needed with rice idli ( although I love both). Rava idli are said to be light and are easy to digest. Rava is very useful in making many quick, easy and tasty breakfast items.
So, I will share my version of Rava idli:

Rava Idli: 
 
Serves 3 (makes 16 idli)
Takes 30 minutes


Ingredients:






Method:
 Soak rava in curd for about 15-20 minutes and add water to make a thick batter.
After 15 mins check the consistency of the batter, add water if needed ( it should be exactly same as the rice idli batter neither thin nor thick)
Add water and heat the idli cooker.
Add Eno just before putting the batter on the Idli making tray.
Grease the tray with oil and pour the batter.
Steam it for 5-8 minutes and check by inserting knife of fork weather the idlis are cooked nicely.
 
 

 Taddaaa...Your tasty and soft Rava Idlis are ready. You can serve it with coconut chutney or can have them with sambhar. 
     


Enjoy !

Monday 26 October 2015

Restaurant Review: Bademiya - Colaba, Mumbai





                                                             Image Courtesy: Google

Bademiya is more than a restaurant, it has actually become a landmark of that area. One of the famous veg/non-veg restaurants of Mumbai, which actually started from a small street stall. It is one of those restaurants which are part of Mumbai's nightlife. I have been to Bademiya twice, one was at normal time around 8:30 pm so the place was crowded as expected, but the next visit was at 2:30 pm and to my surprise I was unable to park my car. The area was so full and everyone was there to taste the divine food offered at Bademiyan. Okay, so let's talk about the experience:

Ambiance: It is an open street kind of restaurant where people take the food from the counter and enjoy it in open. Now, they have arranged an area where they have put some chairs descent enough to sit and eat. Frankly, not at all fancy, but worth the food you actually taste.

Service: In both my visits, service was excellent. Right from the time you order food, it is served and at last when the person comes to offer you water to wash your hands (which touched me the most). The service was quick, the staff was courteous. Even, that late at night they were on their toes, smiling, running after orders which was really awesome. This kind of service lacks, even in most of the high end restaurants. So, I am very impressed with the service, they are really doing good work here.

Food: Ahhhh... Bademiya is one of those restaurants about which people say "Colaba gaye and Bademiya mein nahi khaya". I tried non-veg both the times. Kebabs always win my heart. They are just superb. So, I would highly recommend to try their kebabs. As they are well cooked, rich in flavor and full of taste. I tried chicken bunna which was disappointing, not at all up to the mark, so not my recommendation list. Rest, seekh kebab roll was a hit. Rumali rotis are good in size and fulfilling. I tried their Chicken Baida Roti, which his staff suggested us, it was nice crispy, big roti filled with minced chicken, but some garam masala was very prominent in taste which was not very pleasing  but it was ok overall.

Things I tried: Chicken Reshami Tikka, Seekh Kebab roll, Chicken Tikka, Seekh Kebab, Chicken Baida Roti, Chicken Bhunna and Rumali Roti.

Will I visit again: Yes

Total rating: 4/5
                                                    Chicken Reshami Tikka
                                                    Chicken Seekh Kebab Roll
                                                      Chicken Seekh Kebab Roll
                                           Chicken Bhunna and Rumali Roti

My opinion and words are not biased and the review is totally based on my experience at the restaurant. But rightly said, “Food is subjective and everyone has own taste” so kindly exercise your own discretion, with the understanding that this is reviewer’s personal opinion. 


Bademiya Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Restaurant Review: Baughban, Kharghar, Navi Mumbai

Being a foodie and I always get tempted by the lovely and awesome pictures posted by the food addicts like me. I always see posts from some awesome restaurant that are really far from my place so it becomes for me to be there at times, but definitely I make a note of them on my wishlist.
I love exploring new food joints, so started this journey by exploring the places to eat around me. Before this the earlier reviews are posted on Zomato, you can follow from there.

Recently, I explored Restaurant Baughban, Kharghar.This restaurant is located in a newly developed sector of Kharghar. I was in search of a restaurant with good ambiance and got its name from Zomato. I visited the place twice, in the first visit, we tried vegetarian dishes and then only decided to visit the place again to try the non-veg dishes too.

Ambiance: Ambiance wise Baughban is really good. The decor inside gives a royal look. They have sufficient sitting space to manage the crowd. I liked the ambiance well organized and well maintained.
 Service: Service wise also they were quick and good both the times. In fact, during the second visit the person who was serving us the food was asking for the feedback and was ensuring everything is okay (which was a good sign). The person who was taking the orders was also well aware about the menu and the quantity.
Food: I loved the items I tried in both the visits. The Paneer Tikka which I tried was very nicely flavored and the Murg Sholey Kebab was the highlight. It was very soft with chicken minced pieces filled inside and mild spicy in flavor.The roti were crisp and warm when they were served. The daal fry was medium spicy and was good in taste too. The Chicken dhaba was okay, not great as I found the gravy a bit sweet (which I didn't liked much). So, overall it was a good experience at Baughban.
Things I tried: Paneer Tikka Masala, Daal Fry, Murg Sholey Kebab,Chicken Dhaba, Tandoori roti and Garlic Naan.
Will I visit again: Yes
Total Rating: 4.5/5
                                          Murg Sholey Kebab
                                          Chicken Dhaba
                                          Garlic Naan
                                          Paneer Tikka Masala
                                          Murg Sholey Kebab

My opinion and words are not biased and the review is totally based on my experience at the restaurant. But rightly said, “Food is subjective and everyone has own taste” so kindly exercise your own discretion, with the understanding that this is reviewer’s personal opinion. 

Baugban Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Friday 23 October 2015

Recipe: Palak Paratha....Simple and Healthy !


Palak Paratha is an interesting options for those who don't like to have it in the form of sabzi in any meal( like me..:p)
I am always in search of some interesting recipes to make spinach worth eating. Here is one of such colorful paratha which I can have in any meal of the day.
Below is the recipe to make this paratha.

Palak Paratha
Serves 3 (makes 10 medium sized )
Takes 20 minutes


Ingredients:

 2 cup Wheat Flour
1/2 tsp oil
2 green chilies
4 garlic cloves
A handful of coriander, chopped
1 cup Spinach chopped
1 tsp  Ajwain/Carom seed
Water, for kneading
Tata salt lite, to taste
Ghee/oil to grease the pan.

Method:

Blend together all the ingredients spinach, coriander,garlic and chilies to make a paste.( Don't add water).
Add this paste to the wheat flour, add salt to taste, ajwain and oil to the mixture and knead together to make to a smooth dough.
Take a  medium sized ball from the dough, flatten & sprinkle some flour over it.
Roll to a size of a roti.
Heat the non-stick tawa and place the rolled paratha on the tava.
Flip  a couple of times to get the parathas browned and cooked well.
Usually well browned and crisp parathas are preferred, so we brown them more.




Taaddaa.... the parathas are ready. You can pair them up with any curry ( like I paired with aloo matar) of your liking or simply enjoy the with chutney.


Enjoy !!