Paneer Rolls

What to pack for lunch box is one matter which takes up about half an hour of my precious time every day. Having a week long menu planned on Sunday itself is one is one thing which sets my mind on rest on the already busy weekdays.

I have this habit of trying different snacks for my son’s lunch box. As it is difficult to make him sit and eat at one place, I try to conjure up finger foods which are easy to cook in mornings. Not to mention many of my experiments fail but I do not give up.

Paneer roll is one such attempt which was successful and so I am sharing its recipe with you.

Ingredients:

1.       White bread slices – 2

2.       Cottage Cheese or Paneer , grated or mashed – 2 serving spoons

3.       Salt to taste

4.       Chaat masala to taste

5.       Black pepper – a pinch

6.       Corn flour – 1 level tea spoon

7.       Oil to fry

8.    Fresh Coriander

Method:

1.       Take the grated paneer in a bowl and add salt, chaat masala and black pepper and fresh coriander to it. Keep it aside.

2.       Mix 1 spoon water with the corn flour in a separate bowl and make a fine paste.

3.       Remove the sides of bread slices.

4.       Take a bread slice and flatten it completely with help of a rolling pin.

5.       Put the paneer mixture at one side and slowly roll the bread to form a cigar.

6.       Seal the edge with help of cornflour paste to avoid spilling the contents.

7.       Cut the cigars in 2 halves carefully.

8.       Repeat with the other slice of bread.

9.       Deep fry the rolls in hot oil at medium heat.

10.   You can serve as it is or can cut the roll in smaller circles.

These can be packed in lunch box or served as an evening snack for kids.

You can serve them as a snack as well at one of the house parties by changing the filling to chicken or adding capsicum and some spices to cottage cheese. Optionally processed cheese can also be used.

Atta Chocolate Cake

It is every alternate day that my little three years old keeps on requesting me to bake a black cake for him so that he can celebrate his birthday. Black cake does not mean that I burn the cake; it simply is a dark chocolate cake as he is still not able to clearly draw the line between black and dark brown.

I am more than happy to fulfill his demand as he is a fussy eater and cake is one thing he enjoys. But baking a cake with refined flour was what made me worried. Hence, I thought about experimenting with whole wheat flour to make a cake that is both healthy and yummy and will give a balance of carbs and proteins to my little one.

I succeeded in first attempt and here is my recipe to bake a quickie atta (whole wheat flour) cake.

Ingredients:

1.       Whole wheat flour (atta) : 1 cup

2.       Refined oil/unsalted butter: A little more than one cup but less than 1 ¼

3.       Eggs: 3

4.       Brown sugar/grounded white sugar : 1 cup (you can use a little more if it is brown sugar)

5.       Chocolate powder: 2-3 spoons (If you want a dark chocolate cake then increase this as well as sugar content)

6.       Vanilla essence :  1 tea spoon

7.       Baking Powder: 1 level tea spoon

8.       Assorted nuts chopped – ½ bowl

9.       Milk – About half cup

Method:

1.       Sieve wheat flour and mix baking soda with it. Mix well and keep aside.

2.       Grind the sugar finely and add it to a blender.

3.       Add butter or refined oil to this and mix for about 3-4 mins in blender

4.       One by one add all three eggs. Churn the blender for about a minute after adding each egg.

5.       Add vanilla essence and mix well.

6.       Add the chocolate powder to the sieved flour and mix with a spoon.

7.       Slowly add this flour mixture to the blender. Do not put the entire flour in one go. Add a little and blend and so on.

8.       If the mixture is too thick then add some milk and mix well. The final consistency should be a thick layer of batter falling freely from your spoon. If batter falls in thick chunks then add some more milk. (generally a little less than half cup milk is sufficient for these measurements)

9.       Add half of the chopped nuts and give it a good mix.

10.   Grease a baking dish with some oil and pour the batter in it. Top it with remaining nuts.

11.   Set the microwave on convection at 220 degrees.

12.   Ones the desired temperature is reached put the baking dish in for 10 mins.

13.   After convection 10 mins are over, microwave for another 4 mins.

14.   Check the cake with a knife. If it comes out clean your cake is done.

15.   You can top is with some icing sugar to make it pretty for your little one or add some colorful candies.

There can be many variations to this cake. You can do it without chocolate and with only nuts. You can also add a couple of mashed bananas to the batter to make a banana cake. Any other fruit like tinned pineapple or dried plums can be added for a little tangy flavor as per the taste buds of you children. The sugar can be replaced with brown sugar or even jaggery in same amounts. 

Hope you enjoy this healthy variation of the cake. Do share your variations in this cake.

Masala Fries

French fries are and will always be a favorite snack among kids. As we are moving one step closer to a more comfortable lifestyle each day, making French fries on request of you kids have become super easy. Just open that packet of frozen fries and put them in the wok to deep fry. Voila; you are ready with a tempting looking plate of fires.

As easy as it seems, that frozen packet comes with a baggage of doubts. They are a boon when an unexpected guest lands at your house expecting to be served tea with some hot snacks but a big No-No option as everyday snack for kids, especially for mothers like me who are always conscious to give fresh food little ones.

I try to make evening snacks as healthy as possible but once in a while indulge into French fries also. Here I am quoting a variation on those regular fries and they are called the masala fries.

Ingredients:

1.  2 large potatoes
2.  2-3 serving spoon of besan (gram flour)
3. Salt to taste
4. Chaat masala – ½ tea spoon
5. Chilli flakes – ¼ spoon (optional)
6. Oil to fry

Method:

1. Peel the potatoes and wash them thoroughly.
2. Par boil them so that they are a little soft but not cooked completely.
3. Cut them in long fingers and try to make those fries equal in size.
4.  Put the potatoes in a bowl and add besan, salt chaat masala and chilli flakes to this. Mix well so that besan coat the potatoes evenly.
5. Fry them in medium hot oil on low flame till they are crisp.

So next time you kids want some French fries, go for these masala fries as it will have some proteins added along with the carbs. Optionally you can cook them in an oven to avoid frying but I do not care about frying with kids.

Ice Cream Cake

This recipe is a variation to our normal cake and ice cream combination, that we often serve as a desert. In this recipe I have used a chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream but you can experiment with various flavors of cake and ice cream both.

Chocolate Cake in Microwave:

Ingredients

1. 1 cup all purpose flour
2. Breakfast sugar - 1 cup
3. Unsalted butter/refined oil - i cup
4. Fresh cream or malai - 2-3 serving spoon
5. Chocolate powder - 1/2-3/4 cup depending on how dark you want your cake to be 
   
6. Eggs - 3/4
7. Vanilla essence - 1 tea spoon
8. Baking powder -  1 level tea spoon

Method

1. Mix flour and baking powder in a dish.
2. Add cocoa/chocolate powder to this dish and keep aside.
3. In cake beater or food processor add breakfast sugar and butter/oil. Give it a good beat for 2-3 mins.
4. One by one add the eggs and beat for 2 mins after every egg.
5. Add vanilla essence and beat for another 2 mins.
6. Now add malai/cream to this and beat for 1 mins.
7. Add the flour and coco powder mix to the processor 3-4 serving spoons at a time and beat for 1-2 mins after every addition.
8. If the cake mixture is too thick then add some milk and beat. The final mixture should fall in thick layer from your spoon  but not like thick drops.
9. Grease the baking dish and pour this mixture into it. Optionally you can add some chopped walnuts or almonds to this.
10. Set you microwave in convection mode and pre heat it to 220 degrees.
11. Once the oven reaches the designated temperature put the baking dish in convection mode for 10 mins.
12. After 10 mins put it for another 4 mins in microwave mode.
13. Check with a knife to see if the cake is done.
14. Let the cake cool.

The Ice Cream Cake

1. Keep the vanilla ice cream out of the fridge till it is completely soft.
2. Beat the ice cream with a beater and keep aside.
3. Take the cake on a chopping board and cut it in half from center horizontaly so that we have two layers of cake (top and bottom).
4. First take the botton layer and cover it completely with the beaten ice cream. You can experiment here by adding some tinned cherries or pineapples or some crunchy nuts.
5. Put the top half layer on this and place the cake in a deep dish.
6. Now coat the entire cake with remaining ice cream. We take this in deep dish because ice cream is molten and will drip from every where.
7. You can decorate the cake as you want. I have used some gems and chocolate sauce for marble effect.
8. Marble effect: Pour chocolate sauce on the cake and spread it with the help of a toot pick thus creating a marble pattern.
9. Now deep freeze this cake dish for 4-6 hours before serving. 

Vegetable Suji Pizza

Suji Pizza is a pan cake made of suji (semolina) with various vegetables and is a very healthy breakfast option. It gives you the carbs and vitamins required for head start of a good day.  

It is also a very good option for mothers trying to feed their kids something healthy as it can be presented as PIZZA, which is the most famous food choice for kids. You can ensure to feed some wholesome vegetables to your children using this recipe. 

Ingredients:

1. Suji (Semolina) - 1 cup
2. Curd - 1 Cup
3. 1 Capsicum  - chopped finely

4. 1 Onion - chopped finely
5. 2 Carrots - chopped finely/grated
6. 3-4 button mushrooms - chopped finely
7. Salt - to taste
8. Red chilly powder - 1/4 tbl spoon
9. Mustard seeds - 1 spoon
10. Oil - to cook
11. Baking soda/Eno - 1 large spoon

Serves: 2-3 people

Method:

1. Mix suji and curd together.
2. Add some water to make a thick consistency batter.
3. Add salt, red chilly powder and baking soda/eno to this batter and leave for 15 mins.
4. Add all the vegetables to the batter and mix well.
5. Take a medium size, non stick flat bottom deep pan or a wok and heat 1 spoon oil in it.
6. When oil is medium hot add mustard seeds and let them crackle.
7. Put 2 large spoons of suji mixture in the pan and spread out evenly in the pan. This should be a thick layer.
8. Cover it with a lid and let it cook on slow flame for about 5-7 mins.
9. Check if semolina is cooked and the pan cake is crisp from bottom. If so take it out by keeping a plate on the pan and flipping the pan upside down.
10. This can be cut into slices like a pizza and served with tomato sauce.

Note: Pic to follow.