Samosa chaat is Food For Gods

No, really, it Really Is.

I think the Mighty Krishna would eat Samosa chaat on a relaxing Sunday evening. Or Indra. Or Jesus. Seriously.

And the best Samosa Chaat recipe in the world is:
Best Samosa Chaat Recipe by Pratibha

Pratibha K. Sharma: Thank you for this wonderful recipe. I tried it and made some changes (because I was missing ingredients). I skipped ginger pieces and special Namak. Oh, and I also added Hari Chutney (Dhania+Pudina/Coriander+Mint Chutney) because I had it in the fridge. And I added 2 tsps of Bhujia Sev (Haldiram's) because it was there.

Thank you Thank you Thank you. Best chaat I ever ate! Dukaan se bhi Badiya!!

I took some pictures after finishing half the chaat.... sorry :)

Boil milk WITHOUT it sticking to the bottom

I finally discovered the secret to not letting the bottom of the pan burn while boiling milk. I used skim milk. I have 2 separate recipes. They are two independent recipes. Try them and let me know how it works out for you.
The background: In the North American dairy industry, it is their procedure to take out the fat from the milk and only leave in less-than-1%, 1%, 2%, or 3.25% milk fat. This removal of milk fat causes the milk to burn when boiled on a stove. Boiling milk is a very essential step in preparing Indian food, especially desserts, so obviously this is a problem. Burnt milk smells really awful.

There are 2 ways to overcome this problem. "METHOD 1" below "tricks" the milk into boiling without sticking. The second "METHOD 2" essentially turns the milk back into what it was when it came out of the cow. I have given measurements for the milk available in my region. You may need more whipping cream in the milk, depending on where you live.

METHOD 1:
Ingredients:
1-2 cups water
4 cups Milk
2 tsp butter

Steps:
1. Take a non-stick pot. Fill it with about 1/4 cups of water and set it to boil. Let it come to a gentle boil on medium-low heat.
2. Take the milk you will boil, put it in a microwave safe container, and boil it in the microwave. Stop the microwave as soon as the milk starts boiling.
3. Take your non-stick pan with boiling water, and discard all but 2-3 Tbsp of boiling water. Set it back on the stove. Pour your boiled milk in this pot now. Add 2 tsp of butter to this.
4. Stir the milk and scrape the milk off the sides of the pan periodically.

Now you can boil the milk and make your milk-based dessert.

       _________________________________________________________________________

METHOD 2:
Ingredients:
3 cups milk (can be skim, 1%, 2%, 3.25%/homo)
1 cup of full-fat whipping cream (36% or more)

!This is not a low fat recipe!

Steps:
1. Take milk container out of the fridge. Let the milk come to room temperature. Should take 10-15 minutes.
2. Take a non-stick pot. Pour the whipping cream in it and on medium-low heat let it come to a gentle boil.
3. Once the whip cream has started to boil gently, add 1/2 cup of milk at a time, till it comes to a gentle boil. It is important to add the milk only 1/2 cup at a time.
4. Once the cream+milk mixture is gently boiling again, add another 1/2 cup of milk.
5. Keep repeating above step till all the milk has been added and is boiling.
4. Keep stirring continuously throughout steps 1, 2 and 3.

And VOILA! No milk solids sticking to the bottom of the pan!

Enjoy!

Omurice

Recipe is here:
Cooking with Dog: Omurice
Runnyrunny999: Omurice

Easy Tuna Salad (Tastier than you'd think)

I never thought you could make something so fast and so delicious and so healthy with so little.

1 can tuna
1 celery stick diced
1/2 small onion diced
1/2 tomato diced
1-2 tsp raspberry vinegar
1-2 tsp low fat or fat free mayonnaise
salt, pepper to taste

Mix it all up. It is high in protein, low in fat, and very very tasty. The combination of raspberry and tuna is a sure shot.
Alternatively, if you don't want to do all of the above, just take tuna, add whatever veggies you want, and add Raspberry Vinaigrette available in the salad dressing section of the store. Sure shot!

A-May-Zing Alu Tikia/Tikki

This must be one of the easiest and most satisfying Alu Tikki recipes I have ever come up with. Most times, Alu Tikki is disappointing because the spices in the patty aren't right. Undercooked is the biggest complaint I usually have. So what did I do? Read on...

For 2 Tikki: (You can easily double, triple the recipe)

1 cup mashed potatoes (genius way to use leftovers)
1-2 tsp oil x 2
1 clove of garlic minced or finely chopped
1/2 tsp of ginger minced or finely chopped
1/4 tsp of garam masala
1/4 small onion finely chopped
1 green chilli chopped/sliced thin
salt to taste
coriander leaves if you have it

1. Warm the oil in a frying pan medium heat.
2. When hot enough, add the ginger garlic. Fry till aromatic, about 5 minutes on low heat.
3. Add the garam masala and cook for about 1 minute on low. Turn off the heat. The residual heat of the pan will cook the garam masala enough.
4. Add the above spices, onions, green chilli and coriander leaves to the potatoes. (Do not add the potatoes to the frying pan. It'll get too oily and won't form patties.) Add salt to your liking. You can add pepper too if you want. Mix thoroughly. Shape into patties.
5. Take about 1-2 tsps of oil in a frying pan. Place patties in the frying pan. We are shallow frying the tikki.

This is the key: Before, I used to keep tossing and turning the tikki, and then wonder "why does it not keep the shape" or better yet "I'm just no good at making tikkis", etc etc.
This is the secret: Keep the Frying pan on medium low heat, place the tikki on it, and then leave for at least 15 minutes. Just leave. Don't obsess about the tikki, don't touch it, don't prod it. Make no contact with it. Make sure it's not burning. But if it's on medium heat, it shouldn't.

Then, after 15 minutes, Flip the Tikki and again WAIT for 15 minutes. You might add some more oil so the patty doesn't stick to the pan.

Et voila. Awesomely flavoured, tasty Alu Tikki is ready.

I made a sandwich out of this one, but you can have it with chaat or just like that or with daal and rice/roti. It's a very versatile Tikki. Best part is, because you cooked the spices earlier, it doesn't have that raw taste to it.

Alu Phulkopir Kalia (Potato Cauliflower Thick-Gravy)

Kalia is a strong word to use for this dish, but the dish is substantial. So enjoy!

1/2 medium cauliflower (florets)
2 medium potatoes (1 inch diced)
3 small onions (diced)
3-4 cloves garlic (minced)
2 medium tomatoes (diced)
garam masala (whole)
2 bay leaves
cumin powder (2 tsps)
coriander powder (4 tsps)
turmeric powder (1 tsp)
ginger (minced or powder 1 tsp)
oil (3 tbsps)
salt
coriander leaves

1. Heat oil. Fry whole garam masala and bay leaves. Add onions and garlic and fresh ginger (if using). Fry till light brown in colour.
2. Add tomatoes, turmeric, cumin and corinander powder. Fry till it's fairly dry.
3. Add potatoes, salt. Add 1/2 cup of water, stir and cover.
4. 15 minutes later add cauliflower florets, stir well, cover for 20 minutes.
5. Give it a final stir and check for doneness of potatoes and cauliflower.
6. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve with rice, roti or luchi.