Author: Anandhi

Cinnamon and Honey Glazed Pineapple

Pineapples are always an epitome of summer! I have never found a better way of ending a meal than with a pineapple dessert. Pineapple and cinnamon are my all time favorite duo and it has never failed to conquer my taste buds.

Let it be a evening snack with a hot cuppa coffee or a decadent dessert to end your meal, this recipe will surely do justice.

Ingredients
Pineapple
2 tablespoons oil
2-3 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons cinnamon powder
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Salt as needed
Butter for grilling

Preparation
1. Cut the pineapple in your desired shape, approximately 1/2 to 1 inch thick slices. Thread them into soaked skewers stick and rub the pieces with oil.
2. In a small bowl add honey, lemon juice, cinnamon powder and a tiny pinch of salt and make a thick paste. Baste the pineapples with the prepared paste and let it rest for 20-30 minutes in a fridge.
3. Grill them in a medium heat, turn the sticks every 2 minutes. Baste each side while turning them and add butter to caramelize.

Serve hot!

Tips
Make sure you pick a sweet and ripened pineapple
You can also add a half tablespoon of brown sugar to the paste to enhance the sweetness

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Kaju Pista Roll/Cashew Pistachio Roll

Do you have a sugar craving? Don’t curb, I’ve got you a perfect and quick recipe to satisfy your sweet tooth.

This is one of the most popular desserts from the northern parts of India, that has found its way around the globe. With a very few ingredients in place, it will leave your taste buds dance!

–Ingredients(yields 20-25 pieces)–

For pistachio dough
1/3 cup pistachios
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder or 1 cardamom pod
2 table spoon ghee
2 teaspoons milk
Green color as needed (optional)

For cashew dough
1/2 cup cashew
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
4 tablespoons ghee

–Process–

Pistachio dough
1. Add pistachios, 2 tablespoons sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder in a mixer jar, pulse them for 30 seconds. Scrape the sides of the jar and repeat it once again. Once you see them finely grounded, sift the powder to avoid the large particles and transfer it to a bowl.
2. In a small bowl, add milk and 1 drop of green food gel/a tiny pinch of green food color powder and mix well.
3. Add the colored milk drop by drop in to the pistachio powder to form a dough. Use a few drops of ghee for a non-sticky dough.
4. Make 2 individual rolls of 1/2 inch thick and refrigerate.

Cashew dough
1. Pulse the cashews into a fine powder with 1/4 teaspoon of cardamom powder, sift them and keep it aside.
2. Heat a sauce pan, add the sugar and water, boil them until you get a single string consistency. Lower the flame, add 1 tablespoon of ghee and the cashew powder and stir continuously to avoid any lumps. Keep stirring until it starts to leave the sides of the pan and forms a soft dough.
3. Once the mixture is warm, grease your hand with ghee and knead the dough. Transfer it to a parchment paper and roll it out evenly with a rolling pin. Cut into two halves and place the pistachio rolls over the rolled cashew dough.
5. Cover the pistachio by rolling the cashew dough until you get a smooth outer layer. Cut them in your desired length.

Stays fresh for 3-4 days, if refrigerated.

–Tips–

1. If you prefer the chunks in pistachio dough, then do not sift the pistachio mixture.
2. Do not over knead the pistachio dough, it might make the dough sticky.
3. Make sure you add the cashew powder as soon as it reaches one string consistency, a little bit delay will harden the cashew dough.



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Methi Paneer Biriyani/Methi Chaman Biriyani

I’ve never heard of making biriyani out of methi leaves, until I tasted one at the Kashmiri wedding a couple of months ago. Believe me, this recipe just melts in your mouth.

Given the present situation, we’re combating the cabin fever by exploring new recipes. So, you have a lot coming up on your way! Try this and let me know.

Ingredients (serves 2)
1 1/2 cups Rice (of your choice, soaked for 15-20 mins)
1 teaspoon fennel seeds/saunf
3 strands of coriander leaves
3 strands of mint leaves
2 green cardamoms
1 black cardamom
10-15 pepper corns
2 sticks of cinnamon ( an inch length)
2 biriyani leaves
2 onions (thinly sliced)
1/2 cup of fresh methi leaves (roughly chopped)
1-2 green chillies
1/2 cup of fried onions
15-20 ginger julienne/strips
1/2 cup ghee/clarified butter
30-50 ml milk
10-15 strands of saffron
Salt as needed

For marination
150 grams of paneer
1 1/2 table spoon of ginger garlic paste
1 table spoon of roasted cumin powder
1 table spoon of coriander powder
1 table spoon of chilli powder
1 table spoon of garam masala
1/2 tea spoon of turmeric powder
3/4 cup of fresh curd
Salt as needed

Preparation
1. Cut the paneer into cubes and marinate them in the above mentioned ingredients for 20-30 mins at room temperature.
2. In a cooking pot add 3-4 cups of water and bring it to boil. Add 2 table spoons of ghee, finely chopped coriander and mint leaves, fennel seeds and soaked rice. Cook this for 5 minutes, strain the water completely and keep it aside.
3. Heat a heavy bottom pan and add 3 table spoons of ghee, add biriyani leaves, cinnamon, cloves, black cardamom, green cardamom and pepper corns and let them crackle.
4. Add green chillies and thinly sliced onions, ginger garlic paste and give it a mix, then add ginger julienne, methi leaves, fried onions, salt and a lavish sprinkle of ghee and mix well. Cook for 5 minutes with the lid closed.
5. Spread the cooked rice evenly across the paneer mixture and add a few table spoons of ghee. Soak the saffron into the milk and sprinkle it on the rice.
6. Here comes the most important step – dum/steaming. Heat an iron or heavy dosa tawa and place the rice pan with lid atop it. Cook the rice in high flame and low flame for 10 and 5 minutes respectively. While steaming, spread out a thick cloth on top of the rice pan and cover the lid in order to hold the steam.

Tips
1. Do not over mix the rice while boiling and straining, as it might break the rice.
2. You can also marinate the fried onions
3. Please use only iron/heavy dosa tawa and do not use regular non stick tawa.
4. Make sure your paneer mixture is a bit salty and spicy to match up with the rice. If you have added salt while boiling the rice, then please ignore the salt.

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Tender Coconut Pudding

With summer just around the corner, there couldn’t be a better time to treat yourself with the homemade puddings and ice creams. I’ve kicked off the summer with this recipe and it was an instant hit. This is a simple recipe with a very few ingredients, try yourself and share you comments with the picture.

Ingredients
Tender coconut water – 1 cup
Tender coconut pulp – 4-5 tablespoons
Milk – 1/2 cup
Condensed milk – 1/4 cup
Unflavored gelatin – 2-3 teaspoons
Sugar – 2-3 tablespoons
Salt – 1/8 teaspoon (optional)

Preparation
1. Mix ¼ cup of tender coconut water and gelatin, keep it aside and let it bloom.
2. Grind 5 tablespoons of tender coconut pulp with ¼ cup of tender coconut water in a mixer jar/blender with no lumps.
3. In a sauce pan, heat the milk, condensed milk and sugar together.
4. Add the soaked gelatin mixture and keep stirring to avoid lumps. Then add the ground pulp and water mixture and mix well.
5. Switch off the flame and add the remaining ½ cup of tender coconut water and salt.
6. Transfer it to a mould immediately. Let it reach the room temperature and cover with foil or cling film and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes. Once it is set, demould and serve chill.

Tips and tricks
If desired, add some finely chopped coconut pulp before refrigerating
Salt is completely is optional
Add a pinch of cardamom powder, if you prefer some flavor


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No-Bake Peanut Butter Cookies

I’ve lined up a few cookie recipes to share with you this month and this no-bake peanut butter cookies is going to be the first one. This is a simple recipe with just 4 ingredients, and if you’re the one thinking, I’ve no time to bake cookies, then this is exclusively for you. It takes only 15 minutes on the whole. Try it and let me know your comments.

Ingredients
50 grams peanut butter
4-5 table spoons coconut flour
2 table spoons maple syrup
Dark chocolate to coat

Preparation
1. In a bowl add peanut butter, coconut flour and maple syrup together and combine well to form a dough.
2. Form balls out of the dough and press them to a cookie like shape, approximately one and half inches width. Refrigerate them to become firm.
3. Meanwhile, melt the dark chocolate in a microwave or bain-marie. By now, the cookies should be firm, dip them one by one in the melted chocolates and coat them well using two forks and refrigerate them again for a few mins.
4. Now, decorate them as you like and serve chill.

Tips
You can use any chocolate of your desire.
Coconut flour can be replaced with desiccated coconut or freshly grated coconut but, this stays only one day.
Honey is a very good replacement for maple syrup. If you find the dough so hard, add a few tea spoons of milk.

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