Homemade Granola using Jaggery

When it comes to toddler snacks, we always want to go in for a healthy option that are delectable for kids as well. Granola- is one such ideal healthy snacking option not just for kids, but adults as well.
Though not an Indian snack, it is off late gaining lot of popularity here for its healthy and nutritious contents.

This is a no bake recipe that can be so easily made on a stove top. This makes a great travel friendly snacking option for kids. My son loves this as he finds it crispy, crunchy and sweet :):)

You can make N number of combinations and varieties of Granola using the below key ingredients.

Preparation of Granola involves 5 Key ingredients

1. Whole grains - Rice crisps, Whole Wheat grains, Rolled Oats, Corn Flakes
2. Nuts - Walnut, Almonds, Pecan, Hazelnuts,Cashew Nuts
3. Seeds - Sesame, Pumpkin, Melon, Flaxseeds, Chia Seeds
4. Dry Fruits - Dried Cranberries, Blueberries, Raisins, chopped dates, dried apricots, dried strawberries
5. Natural Sweeteners - Dates Syrup, Raw Honey, Maple Syrup,Cane Sugar, Brown unrefined sugar, unsweetened chocolate syrup

You can make this as a Trail mix or as bars. I have chose to make them as a crispy crunch mix. Let's jump to the preparation. :)

Serves: 2 Cups

Ingredients

Whole Grains

• Rolled Oats - 1 cup

Seeds

• Melon Seeds - 2 tbsp
• Pumpkin Seeds - 2 tbsp

Seeds - Melon and Pumpkin Seeds

Nuts

• Cashew Nuts - 2 tbsp
• Walnuts - 2 tbsp

Nuts - Walnuts and Cashew Nuts

Dry Fruits

• Raisins - 2 tbsp
• Cranberries - 2 tbsp

Dry Fruits - Raisins and Cranberries

 

Sweeteners

• Honey - 2 tbsp
• Powdered Jaggery - 1/4 cup

Flavoring Ingredients

• Vanilla Essence - 1 tsp
• Cinnamon Powder - 1/2 tsp

Nuts,Seeds and Dry Fruits

Method

1. Dry Roast the seeds and nuts separately in a thick bottomed pan until they emit nice flavour. Keep it aside after roasting.

2. Dry Roast the oats in a thick bottomed pan on a low-medium flame until you start getting nice aroma of oats and keep it aside separately.

3. In the pan, add powdered jaggery, cinnamon powder and 2 tbsp of water to melt the jaggery. Ensure you melt it on full low flame.

4. Once the jaggery has melted, add all the dry roasted ingredients along with dry fruits and give it a nice mix.

5. To above, add Honey and vanilla essence and give it a nice stirring on low-medium flame so that all the ingredients are crunchy and crispy.

6. Remove the contents from the pan and transfer it to a large bowl.

7. Use both your hands to separate the contents from sticking to each other. Initially, it would be sticking to each other due to jaggery. However, as you keep repeating this process of separating them using your hands by breaking the lumps, it is easier for you to make crispy crunch Trail Mix.


Please note : Do it as soon as you remove the contents from pan. If you delay, it would be a little hard to break the lumps without breaking it.


8. Store it in an airtight container and it stays fresh for long :) Enjoy this delicious snacking.

Malai Kofta

A royal,delicious and a very famous menu in every restaurant. These succulent juicy kofta immersed in rich creamy gravy is sure to leave your mouth watering. Malai means cream, in other words richness or royal. This combines everything that is rich like cashews, fresh cream and paneer as main ingredients.You can make this either as a white gravy completely by ignoring tomatoes as well.However, I have used tomatoes as I had some fresh tomatoes in stock with me. Either way, this will taste awesome. This is a mildly sweet gravy very similar to paneer butter masala.This goes very well with Butter Naan or any other Indian Breads. Learn to make this simple easy recipe at home without much fuss.

Ingredients

Base Onion Tomato Gravy

1. Onions - 3(Big)
2. Banglore Tomatoes - 2 (Big)
3. Cashew Nuts - 12-15
4. Poppy seeds/Khus Khus - 2 tbsp
5. Green Chili - 2 small or 1 big
6. Water - 2 cups

Kofta

1. Paneer - 200 gms (Grated)
2. Raisins - 2 tbsp
3. Cashews - 2 tbsp (chopped)
4. Potato - 3 big(boiled, peeled and smashed)
5. Needed Salt
6. Corn flour - 2 tbsp (for binding)
7. Maida/All purpose flour - Dusting
8. Oil for deep frying

Other Ingredients

1. Butter - 2 tbsp
2. Bay leaf - 1
3. Green Cardamon - 2
4. Cloves - 2
5. Pepper powder - 1 tsp
6. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
7. Coriander powder - 1 tsp
8. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
9. Garam Masala Powder - 1/2 tsp
10. Needed salt
11. Sugar - 3 tsp
12. Fresh Cream - 2 tbsp
13. Kasuri Methi (crushed) - 1 tsp

Method

Gravy Preparation

1. Boil all ingredients under "Gravy" for about 5 mins. The skin of tomatoes come off. Once the contents are cooled, blanch the tomatoes. ( see more on blanching tomatoes).

                              

2. Grind the contents to a smooth paste.

3. Heat butter in a pan, add bay leaf, cloves and cardamom and saute well.

4. Add ginger garlic paste and saute well for the raw flavor to go off.

5. Add the ground gravy mixture to the pan and saute well.

                             

6. Add all the powders mentioned in other ingredients and needed salt to saute well.

7. Cover the lid and allow it to simmer for 10 mins.

8. After 10 mins, the gravy would have cooked well and the raw taste would have gone completely.

9. Mix well and add needed water (if gravy has become too thick).

10. Add sugar and fresh cream and give it a good stir.

11. Add some crushed kasuri Methi and switch off the flame.

Kofta preparation

1. Mix mashed aloo,grated paneer and corn flour together. Combine well so that the contents mix homogeneously.

                              

2. Add green chili, cashew bites and raisins and combine well as shown in the pic.

3. Form cylindrical shape koftas with hand and dust them evenly in maida flour. The koftas should be uniformly coated well with flour.

                                 

4. Deep fry them in hot oil till the koftas turn golden brown. ensure the flame is medium so that the koftas do not turn black immediately.

5. Keep the koftas aside.   

                       

Assembling

1. On a plate, gently pour a ladle of the creamy gravy. Place the koftas above it.

2. Garnish with beaten fresh cream and serve them hot with Butter Naan or any other Indian Breads.

Notes,Tips & Add-On's

1. Presence of cashew makes the gravy thick. You can adjust water accordingly to make it  a creamy consistency.Make sure you don't add much.
2. Dusting the koftas helps in uniform covering of koftas. While frying, it gives uniform coloring.

Shahi Pulao

I have been wanting to try this pulao for a long and was waiting for a right occasion to make it. I had invited my sis -in law and her husband for a lunch after a very long time. So I really wanted to make something special and surprise them. I was thinking hard as to what to make for rice as my husband doesn't like briyani much.As far pulao, I wanted to make sure this should be something unique and different. So this has been inspired from various recipes like mughlai pulao, jaipuri pulao and finally I devised this recipe of "Shahi Pulao".

This is highly rich in flavor,ingredients and aroma. This does not taste sweet and is a mildly spiced pulao which is made using fresh cream,Ghee,saffron milk and cashews and is truly a Royal Delight.:) The color to this pulao which you see in the picture is purely from saffron milk and I have not added any extra color.Everyone just loved this and this is sure to make your guests fall for your cooking:)

I have skipped adding paneer to it as I had already made Paneer Kurchan as one of the side dish separately on that day of lunch. 

Let's look at the preparation.

serves:3

Ingredients:

1. Basmati Rice - 1.5 cups
2. Paneer/cottage cheese-1/2 cup cubed
3. Ghee - 3 tbsp
4. Pepper powder-2 tsp
5. Garam Masala powder-1 tsp
6. Coriander powder-1 tsp
7. Saffron strands -4
8. Warm milk-1/4 cup
9. cashews and raisins -2 tbsp each
10. Coriander leaves - for garnishing
11. Salt to taste

To Grind-Shahi Paste

1. Fresh Cream - 1/4 cup
2. Green Chilies-2 (slit lengthwise)
3. Ginger - 1.5 inch with skin peeled
4. Garlic Pods-5

Masala Ingredients

1. Star anise(anaachi poo) - 2-3 
2. Cinnamon stick - 1 inch
3. Cloves - 3
4. Green Cardamom - 2
5. Black Cardamom - 2
6. Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
7. Shahi Jeera - 2 tsp
8. Bay Leaf-1 big crushed
9. Mace/Japathri -2

Vegetables Used (Can be anything of your choice)

• Beans - 6-7
• Carrot – 1
• Onions -1 medium sized
• Cauliflower florets-5-6 
• Potato-1 small

Method:

1. Rinse basmathi rice well and soak it in lukewarm water for 20-30 mins.

2. Soak the saffron strands overnight in warm milk.

3. Grind all the ingredients under "Grind" to a smooth paste and keep it ready.

4. Boil cauliflower with a pinch of salt and turmeric separately for 2 mins and then strain them. This is to get rid off worms present in the cauliflower.

5. Fry the raisins, cashews and paneer in a tbsp of ghee, gently on low flame until they turn golden brown .Keep them separately.

6. In a pan, heat ghee and add all the masala ingredients and saute for 2 mins on low-medium flame until the jeera and fennel seeds crackle completely.

7. Now, add onions and saute until the onions become transparent.

8. Now, add the shahi paste and saute until the raw flavor of ginger and garlic goes off.


9. Next, add all other vegetables(including cauliflower) to the pan and mix gently.

10. Strain the soaked basmathi rice completely and add it to the pan.

11. Add garam masala,coriander powder and pepper powder and mix evenly and gently in low flame till the rice is fully covered with masala mixture and evenly coated.

12. Now transfer the content of the pan to a vessel for pressure/electric cooking.

13. Add salt and soaked saffron milk to rice and cook the rice as mentioned here.

14.  Add the fried cashews,raisins,paneer and mix gently.

15. Garnish with tender chopped coriander leaves and some cashew-raisins.

16. Shahi Pulao is now ready to be served hot with papads or raitha.

Notes,Tips & Add-On's

1. Use good quality saffron to get the bright golden color and aroma.
2. Adding paneer definitely adds richness to the pulao. So do not skip it:)

Kaju Paneer Pulao

Finally,I come up with a very special recipe after a gap.I am sorry for posting it after a long break.This recipe is taken from Sanjeev Kapoor's kitchen Kaju Moti Pulao. I made this for dinner. It turned out really delicious. Kaju and Paneer make the richest combo in a vegetarian meal.This make a sumptuous main course. This is sure to be a feast to your taste buds. This is a very simple and rich recipe with No onion, garlic or any masala. This is so flavorful and gentle on stomach  - Sattvik Cuisine.

serves:2-3

Ingredients

1. Cashew nuts- 10
2. Paneer/Cottage Cheese-250 gms(grated)
3. Basmati rice-1.5 cups
4. Salt to taste
5. Cornflour- 3 tsp
6. Oil for frying
7. Ghee- 3 tbsp
8. Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
9. Black cardamoms- 2
10. Cloves- 2
11. Cinnamon stick-1
12. Black peppercorns- 4
13. Turmeric powder-1 tsp
14. Milk- 3 cups

Method

1. Add salt and cornflour to the grated paneer and shape into small marble-sized balls. Heat sufficient oil in a pan and deep-fry the paneer balls till golden. Drain on absorbent paper and keep it aside. In the same oil, deep-fry the cashew nuts till light golden. Drain on absorbent paper and keep it aside.

2. Heat the ghee in a non stick pan, add the cumin seeds, cardamoms, cinnamon,cloves, peppercorns and turmeric powder. Saute for one minute.

3. Drain the rice and add it to the above content. Add milk and cook the rice as mentioned here.

4. Once the rice is done, add the fried cashews and paneer balls on top and give it a gentle mixture.

4. Transfer the rice onto a serving plate, garnish with the paneer balls and serve hot.

Notes,Tips & Add-on's

1. You can also use coconut milk instead of normal milk. This gives additional flavor and taste.

Cashewnut / Kaju Pulao

Cashewnut Pulao is one of my favourites whenever I am at Hot Chips Restaurant.A mild aromatic pulao seasoned with roasted cashewnuts and ghee.This is a very simple yet delicious and rich pulao that can be done in a jiffy.The coconut milk adds to the rich taste and hence I have used it.

serves:3

Ingredients

1. Basmathi rice-1.5 cups
2. Cashew nuts-2 tbsp (chopped into medium size)
3. Onion - 1 big (thinly sliced lengthwise)
4. Coriander leaves-fistful
5. Green Chili-2
6. Coconut Milk- 3 cups (diluted - 2 cups milk with 1 cup water)
7. Ghee-1 tbsp
8. Ginger Garlic paste- 1 tbsp
9. Salt to taste

Masala Ingredients

1. Bay Leaf - 1 Medium or Big
2. Fennel Seeds - 1 tsp
3. Jeera/Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
4. Cloves - 2-3
5. Green Cardamom- 3 
6. Black Cardamoms - 2 
7. Cinnamon - 1 inch stick
8. Star Anise - 2
9. Mace/Japathri -2

Method

1. Rinse well and soak Basmathi rice in water for about 30 mins.

2. In a pan, heat some ghee,add Bay leaf and saute for 2-3  mins.

3. Add cumin seeds and fennel seeds.After they crackle,add all other masala ingredients and saute for 2 mins on a low flame.

4.  Add Onions and green chili. Saute well until onions turns translucent. 

5. Add Ginger garlic paste and saute till the raw smell of garlic and ginger goes off.

6. Strain the soaked rice,some chopped coriander leaves and add it to the above pan.

7. Mix the rice well with masala and saute well.

8. Once the rice is mixed evenly and gently with the masala paste, remove the pan from the flame.

9. Transfer the rice to a pressure cooker,add salt and diluted coconut milk.

10. Cook the rice as mentioned here for 1:2 ratio.

11. Roast the cashew nuts in a tsp of ghee until they turn light brown in color.

12. Mix the roasted cashew nuts with cooked rice gently. 

13. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and some roasted cashews and serve hot with spicy accompaniments. 

Notes,Tips & Add-On's

1. Instead of coriander,you can use mint or celery leaves.
2. Remove the bay leaf from rice before serving as it is used only for infusing aroma.