Homemade Greek Yogurt

These days, my life revolves around two people: my nine months old son and my 27 years old better half. It's really a tough work trying to please their taste buds with new dishes every week, but still, hard work pays off. Every day is a new day for me where i face the challenge of trying to make something good enough that my choosy 9 months old can eat (thank God my husband eats everything that i make). Unlike me, my son likes unsweetened things more than sweetened dishes (which is a good thing i suppose) but it leaves me with a little less options as baby food mostly comprises of sweet-tasting dishes. Just like any other mom, i try to make whatever he likes and i am happy as long as he is eating healthy homemade food.
In his today's lunch is homemade greek yogurt. Greek yogurt is much more creamier and rich in texture than plain yogurt, also it is less tangy in taste. It is the best first food of your 6+ months old baby. When i came across the word "greek" yogurt, i thought it must b a delicacy, something which should be hard to make at home. But then i read the method on internet and realized how much easy it is!
I am dedicating this recipe to my mother-in-law, who taught me how to make yogurt at home in the first place.
For making 5-6 baby bowl servings of greek yogurt at home, you will need 1 litre milk (the creamier, the better), 3 tablespoons of starter yogurt, an earthen pot with any lid to cover it (matti ki handi). You can use any airtight plastic container too but avoid using stainless steel utensils for making yogurt. This is the pot that i use for this purpose:

Now first thing first, boil the milk  and let it cool till it become lukewarm. Check with your finger, it should not be very hot. Pour it in the pot and mix starter yogurt in it. Cover it with a lid. Now wrap the pot with warm clothes or you can place it in a hotpot/oven to keep warm and leave it for 5-6 hours to set.
Check after a few hours, the yogurt should be set and ready, as shown in the picture below:

Once the yogurt is set, separate the whey (acidic watery liquid) from the thicker part with the help of a muslin cloth or cheesecloth.

This separated creamier part is the greek yogurt which has no acidic whey in it, and it's high in calcium, therefore good for teething babies.
Yummmm!

Potato peelies

Potatoes potatoes everywhere
 Eat them without a blink
Potatoes potatoes everywhere
It's all we can think (much love to Samuel Taylor Coleridge)
Who doesn't love eating potatoes, name one person and get an award of fried potatoes free from me!
Now this recipe is an easy one and everyone will love it. When you are in a hurry, make potato peelies peeled with the help of a peeler (alliteration of P sound, huh). Btw i used to call potato peeler a 'piller' once when i was a child.
Anyway, for this dish you will need 2-3 potatoes (one potato per serving), 2-3 cloves garlic, capsicum, mint leaves, cumin seeds, coriander powder, turmeric powder, 2 tablespoons of butter, salt and pepper to taste.
I like to make potato peelies on a 'tava' but u can use a non-stick pan for this purpose. Here is the recipe:
Wash potatoes thoroughly with water and take their brown peels off. Now, with the help of a peeler, make very thin potato slices, as shown in the picture below:

Afterwards melt butter in a pan, add garlic and fry potatoes in it.

Add all the above ingredients on it and cover with a lid so that they are cooked properly! Cook them until the peelies are soft. Potato peelies with the delicious aroma of garlic, capsicum and mint is ready to serve.

p.s: u can add fried chicken chunks, tomatoes and onions in it too for a different and yummier touch. 

Once upon a time

Buttered toast, an egg and a cup of tea... Ah breakfast! My favourite time of a day. I have always loved breakfast because in the morning you can forget about calorie intake even if you are on a diet (atleast most people do). Breakfast should comprise of energetic food and what can be more energetic than proteins! Moreover, having a nutritious breakfast is very good for your child's health in their growing age.
But the thing is, children are easily bored by the same kind of food every day and mothers don't have much choice in breakfast except to give them eggs, bread, cutlets, whole wheat chapatis, etc. Now if you want to make your boring bread and eggs interesting for your child, you should try out new ways to present it. Adding cheese and tomatoes can be one of the fun ways to make boring scrambled eggs interesting.
For an example, if you look at this picture below you will see that  this Saturday morning breakfast made by me once upon a time back in my university days includes nothing but a slice  of toast and an egg.

I took a piece of bread, took out a heart-shaped piece from it with the help of a knife and toasted them in a pan with a teaspoon of butter. Then i poured an egg over it and left it to cook. Keep the heat on low if you don't want it overcooked. Looks artistic, right? But it's very simple and looks good to serve.
So if your mornings are boring af, make them more interesting by bringing out the artist in you!

Mommy knows best

Taking care of a newborn feels overwhelming (read tiring) at first, but if you just get the hang of it, it's not really difficult at all. All you have to do is to go with the flow and enjoy this time that you have got with your little bundle of joy. As the saying goes "they grow up so fast", and grow out of your reach before you even know it. We can say that achieving parenthood can be the start of a new life for new mothers and fathers out there. It is a beautiful feeling once you get over all the sleepless nights; after a hectic day, all it takes is a little smile from your cuppycake to make you feel better.
Now here is a good tip to keep your sanity in place after going for weeks (read months) without deep sleep: Do Not (i repeat, just don't) listen to those aunties and uncles out there who think that you are not raising your kid properly. Expressions like "Iska to sar gol nai bnaya tum ne, falane ka sar dekhna kitna pyara hai", "tumhara baby boht kamzor hai, uska dekho kitna healthy", etc etc are all to be ignored completely. It will never be good enough for them and listening to them can make you very depressed.
 All babies are born different and grow up differently, even twin babies can be very different from each other (telling from my experience), so how can you compare one kid to another. When God has given you a healthy baby with a round head, why should you be held accountable for not making his head "gol". Nobody gives you award for it. Listening to such rants can only fuel your depression, and that is the last thing that you want on your mind with the increasing demands of your growing child.
Just remember the rule of thumb for adequate growth of your baby. If he has doubled his birth weight in the first six months and tripled it in a year (3 times birth weight in a year) and gained approximately 25 cm in length in his first year then he is perfectly fine. No need to worry about what others has to say because people always find something to complain about. In the end, mommies always know what is best for her child.
Keep yourself and your little one happy!

And if you are wondering, this is what a round head looks like! 

Rice pudding aka our traditional kheeer

When your baby is almost nine months old, it is a must for every mom to learn how to make rice pudding (in fact pudding of any kind from boiled potatoes to eggs etc). Babies need change of taste everyday as they get bored easily. I can't tell you for sure about all babies as every one of them come without a baby manual and they are all very different from each other. But if you have a super active baby like mine (say MashaAllah), then you will have to meet their demands by being active yourself. And trust me on this, they get bored by one toy or one room too so it's all about keeping them entertained by bringing out a little bit of change in their surroundings and menu every week. They will love it and it's good for their mental growth too. Monotonous routines can be depressingly boring for everyone, even for babies.
Enough said, let us come back to rice pudding. I am a pro at making ras malai (atleast that's what my family says) but i have always been afraid of making kheer. Then today, i gathered up my courage by looking at the little person's face in my lap and thought of making rice pudding for him.
It's easy peezy and you will love it.
Ingredients:
One litre milk, one cup rice (soaked for half an hour), water, one cup sugar, saffron essense 2 drops, crushed almonds and pistachio, 3-4 cardamon.
Recipe:
In a pan, boil milk and add saffron drops, sugar and crushed cardamom in it. Keep the stove on low heat. In another pan, boil soaked rice in water until soft and then grind them into a mush. Add it to the boiling milk and mix well. Let it simmer on low heat for about 20-25 minutes until it thickens.
Garnish with crushed almonds and pistachios. Serve cold. It's a way to go when u crave something very milky and sweet.

p.s: my son loved it even though he is not much into sweet dishes (and this is only because he has no sweet tooth yet).

Homemade jalebiii

Naam! Jalebiii bai?!
This pathetic song always come into my mind whenever i hear the word jalebi. I mean, B***ywood, seriously? How lame can u get. Anyone can compose a song these days as long as they have musical instruments and an access to internet. Even musical instruments are not really required in the process of making a song (yes it's true). Put together any rambling of jumbled up words in a singsong voice and viola! U composed a song!
Anyway, i am not a musician, i have really no idea about such things. I will just bore you all with my heart's catharsis. You are allowed to stop reading this blog further, it will not get any interesting.
But now i digress. Let's come back to our jalebi. So where were we? Yes the ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon baisan
1 tblsp corn flour
3/4 cup  yogurt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons melted ghee, (you may substitute it with any vegetable oil)
Water as needed to make a thick paste (like pancake batter)
Now in a bowl, mix everything and cover the bowl with a muslin cloth and leave it in a warm place to rise for an hour approximately
For syrup: one cup water, one cup sugar, 2-3 cardamom and saffron for yellow color (optional)
Boil in a pan, and let it simmer on a medim heat until the syrup becomes thick (sheera)
 Pour the batter in a ketchup bottle (i have used 7up bottle with a hole in its cap) and deep fry jalebi until brown. Put it in syrup to absorb! Garma garam jalebi is ready to serve.
Doodh jalebi, anyone?

p.s: i am really bad at presentations, please ignore.

7 minute Dark Chocolate microwave Brownies

Dark chocolate brownies are the best!  

I don't think i should say anything else on this note, lets move to the recipe. 

(Well that escalated quickly)

Ingredients:

3 eggs
1 cup flour (maida)
1 cup brown sugar
3 table spoons butter/oil
5 table spoons milk
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
A pinch of salt
Method: Thoroughly beat 3 egg-whites in a bowl, add egg yolk, brown sugar, oil, baking powder and cocoa powder in it and beat again. Add flour at the end and mix it with a spoon. Pour it into any dish which can be put in a microwave and bake it for 5-7 minutes.
Now for topping, take a pan and melt 1tblsp butter, 2-3 table spoons brown sugar, 3 tblsp milk and 4-5 chunks of dark chocolate in it over a medium heat until it becomes a paste. Pour this hot syrup on top of your already baked cake and cool it in a freezer for 20-30 minutes (I like it hot). Cut them into cubes. Your dark chocolate brownies are ready to serve.

White sauce pasta

Grr i was trying to sleep right now but this zalimaaa cococola pila de ad got stuck in my head. So i thought not to waste my precious time brooding over petty matters and to share another recipe with you all.
Today, i am going to share the recipe of white sauce pasta (who doesn't like pasta, huh?) and trust me, it was yummier than it looked in the picture below.

 This is very simple to make, but it tastes delicious. If you are on a diet, it's not for you, skip the page. But if you want to indulge in something creamier rich on your cheat day, then go ahead ;) But beware guys, one does not simply eat one serving of pasta.
Anyway let us come to our recipe. Here are the key ingredients that you will need beforehand:
Pasta of your choice (i used penne)
Cheddar cheese, cream, butter, milk, boneless chicken chunks and sausages (finely cut into pieces),olive oil, chopped onions, ginger garlic paste, dried basil leaves and oregano (u can include any other spice for seasoning), salt and pepper to taste.
Recipe:
In a pan, fry onions, chicken boneless (my phone autocorrects to homeless) and sausage pieces in ginger garlic paste and olive oil. Add salt, pepper, italian seasonings to your taste. Then add milk, butter and cream and put it to boil.
Then add grated chedder cheese and boiled pasta and mix. Adjust salt pepper accordingly. 
Serve hot. Mmm delicious ^_^

Beef Pulyani recipe

Ok i am back, all fresh and rested. Off the record, i just wanted to say that Google doodles for olympics 2016 are so cute! 
Anyway, it's time to tell u guys the recipe of beef pulyani (pulao-biryani: lame name i know i know) that i made two weeks back. 
For this yummy dish i used undercut beef but you can use any other type of meat that u like. 
Here comes the whole ingredients:
 Beef (undercut boiled) 1 kg
Basmati rice 1 kg
Beef stock and water
Cooking oil
Onions chopped
 Garlic ginger paste
Tomato paste
Yogurt
Garam masala powder, cinnamon, turmeric, red chillies, salt as per taste.
Recipe:
In a pan, fry onions in oil until brown. Add boiled meat and garlic ginger paste. Add salt chillies garam masala etc in it and fry thoroughly. Now its time to add tomatoes and yogurt. Beef masala is ready.
Now for rice, boil beef stock and water. Add salt, garam masala and pepper in it. Then add rice in boiling stock and cook until soft. Cover the lid while pouring masala over the rice in layers. Beef pulyani is ready! Om nom

p.s: i wrote it all in a hurry, my bad. Just had a tiring day.

Beef pulyani

Beef pulao+biryani= pulyani
Recipe coming soon as i have an eight month old little person to take care ofright now and get on with some snooze. Stay tuned peeps!

Easiest Ras Malai recipe

Hello everyone! It's hot and humid here in Islamabad today and when the weather hits u like that, all u want to do is to rest. And what can be better than having a cold sweet bowl of homemade ras malai to beat up the heat. This recipe of ras malai is the easiest one because even my husband can remember it all by heart (if he can memorize it, u all can). Ok ok i will stop rambling now, let's get on with the basics ingredients:
Servings: 6-7 persons
For ras malai syrup:
1 litre milk, 4-5 green cardamom, one cup sugar
For ras malai dough: 
One large egg, one cup powdered milk(i use nido), two tablespoons desi ghee ( u can use butter or vegetable oil), one tablespoon milk, one tablespoon all purpose flour, one teaspoon baking powder.
Recipe:
In a pan make syrup by adding milk, crushed cardamom and sugar and bring it to a boil.
In another bowl make ras malai dough by mixing all the ingredients mentioned above. Make small balls of dough and put them one by one in boiling syrup. When these ras malai balls become fluffy, take them out on a dish carefully and pour syrup over it. Garnish with whatever dry fruits u want :) almonds etc. cool it and serve. Yum!
C ya