Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
Directions
In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and peanut butter on high speed for 30 seconds. Add the sugar, brown sugar, baking soda and baking powder. Mix until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in the egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in the remaining flour. Cover and chill dough until easy to handle, approximately 1 hour.
Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Roll balls in granulated sugar and place balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten the dough balls by using a fork to make a criss cross pattern on the cookies. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 7 to 9 minutes or until bottoms are lightly brown. Cool cookies on a wire rack.
Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 large eggs,beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• if desired, 1 cup chopped pecans
Method:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix sugar, brown sugar, butter, vanilla and eggs in a large bowl by hand. Stir in flour, baking soda, and salt. The dough will be very stiff. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans if desired. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light brown. The centers will be soft. Let cool completely then remove from cookie sheet.
Banana Nut Cookies
2 2/3 cups all purpose flour
Method:
Preheat oven to 300oF.
In a bowl, combine flour, soda, salt. Mix well with a wire whisk. Set aside.
In a large bowl blend sugars at med speed with an electric mixer.
Add butter and mix to form a grainy paste, scraping down sides of the bowl.
Add egg, banana extract and banana and beat at medium speed till smooth.
Add the flour mixture, 1 cup chocolate chips, walnuts and blend at low speed till just combined. Do not overmix.
Drop by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheets, 2" apart.
Sprinkle cookies with chocolate chips, 6-8 per cookie.
Bake for 20-24 mins or till cookie edges begin to turn brown. Transfer immediately to a cool surface with a spatula. Store in airtight containers.
Cheese Wafers
4 teacups fried potato wafers
1 tsp chilli powder
6 tbsp cheese, grated
salt to taste
Method:
Combine all the ingredients.Keep in a broad baking dish and bake in a hot oven at 450ºF for 20 minutes.Ready to serve hot.
Cheese Crackers
85 gms maida
25 gms butter
55 gms grated cheese
¼ tsp caraway seeds
1 tbsp milk (approx.)
a pinch of salt
Method:
Sieve the flour very well. Rub in the butter with finger tips.Put the cheese, caraway seeds and salt and make a dough by using enough milk. Roll out the dough to about 6 min. (¼") thickness and cut into small bite-sized pieces with a fancy cutter. Place on a greased baking tin and prick all over with a fork. Bake in a hot oven at 450ºF for 7 to 8 minutes.Ready to serve plain or with any dip.
Tandoori Chicken
-Prick the chicken pieces with a fork all over.
-Apply the tenderiser to the chicken pieces and let it stand for an hour or so.
The marinade: Take a wide and deep bowl about 12 2 inches wide and deep enough to hold all the chicken pieces.
-Add the yoghurt plus one-cup water or the buttermilk with no water into the bowl.
-Add all the spices from nos. 3 through 8 into the bowl and stir to form a homogeneous mixture.
-Now add the chicken pieces into the mixture, so that they are all covered with the paste/mixture.
-Cover the bowl with a lid and let it stand for 6 hours.
-If you plan to marinade for 12-15 hours, put it in the refrigerator.
-The more time it is marinated, the better it will absorb the spices and the tastier it will be.
-When you are ready to grill the chicken, apply melted butter to the the chicken pieces with a brush or spoon all over and you are ready to grill the chicken on the barbecue in the normal fashion.
-Turn over the chicken pieces when they look brownish red in colour or darker if you prefer it well done.
-Slice finely onion into rings, add some salt and lemon juice to it, to be served as a salad with the tandoori chicken.
-Lemon juice sprinkled on the cooked pieces also adds to the flavour, if you wish.
CHICKEN PAKORA
500 gm Boneless Chicken Pieces
Preparation:
-Put everything but chicken and batter in blender and blend till fine
-Marinate the chicken pcs with the resulting mixture
-Keep in the fridge for 40 minutes.
-Put chicken in batter
-Deep fry it until its colour changes to golden brown Condiments
-Serve the chicken pakora with coriander or mint chutney or tomato ketchup
CHILLI CHICKEN RECIPE
500-600gms. boneless chicken (cut into1-inch cubes)
How to make chili chicken :
-Take 1tbsp. Soya sauce, 1tbsp. corn flour, salt, egg in a bowl and marinate chicken pieces in the the mixture for about 10-15 minutes.
-Heat oil and deep fry the marinated chicken pieces till golden brown.
-Now in a separate wok / kadhai heat 1 tbsp. oil and add garlic paste and green chilies and sauté for few seconds.
-Add 2 cups of chicken broth or water. Bring to boil and add sugar, pepper powder, salt , ajinomoto and remaining Soya sauce.
-Add fried chicken pieces to it and cook for few minutes.
-Dissolve the remaining corn flour in 1/2 cup water and add to the curry stirring constantly to avoid lumps.
-Serve chilli chicken hot garnished with chopped green onion tops. Goes well with steamed / boiled rice.
Chicken Tikkas
1 full: Chicken (large)
2 cups: Curd
1 cup: Onions(Grinded)
4-5 cloves: Garlic
1/2"piece: Ginger
2"piece: Raw papaya
1 tsp: Chilli powder
1tsp: Garam masala
2 tbs: Lemon juice
2-3 drops: Red colour
Ghee as required
Salt to taste
Method:
-Clean the chicken. Remove the bones and slice it into small pieces.
-Grind onions, garlic, ginger, and papaya into smooth paste.
-Mix it with curd, chilli powder and garam masala. Blend well to make the marinade.
- Add a few drops of red colour to the marinade with salt and lemon juice.
-Smear the chicken pieces with the mixture and let them marinate for 8-10 hours.
-Heat ghee in a pan and add the marinated chicken pieces, fry for 5-6 minutes, then pour the remaining marinade on it.
Cover the pan and cook on a low fire until chicken pieces are tender and dry. Serve hot.
Butter Chicken
700 gm: Raw chicken
Marinade
½ kg: Curd
1 tsp: Ginger garlic paste
1 tsp: Red chilli powder
Salt to taste
100 gm: White butter
½ kg: Tomato (pureed)
½ tsp: Black cumin seeds
½ tsp: Sugar
1 tsp: Red chilli powder
Salt to taste
100 gm: Fresh cream
75 gm: White butter
4-5: Sliced green chillies
½ tsp: Crushed fenugreek leaves
-For the marinade, mix red chilli powder, ginger garlic paste, salt and curd together. Marinade is ready.
-Now mix the raw chicken in the marinade and keep it in the refrigerator overnight.
-Then roast the marinated chicken in a tandoor or an oven for about 5-10 minutes till it is three fourth done.
-For the gravy, heat white butter in pan. Add black cumin seeds, tomato puree, sugar, red chilli powder and salt. Mix it well.
-Now add the prepared chicken, white butter, fresh cream, sliced green chillies and crushed fenugreek leaves.
-Cook till chicken is done.
-Butter Chicken is ready to eat.
-Serve hot with rice or naan.
Chicken Korma (Curry) Recipe
Serves-4
Ingredients
1 lb. chicken cubed
2 tbs. cooking oil
1 large or 2 small onions (8 oz.) chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic minced
2-3 tbs. tomato puree or 4 sun-dried tomato or 2 tomatoes chopped
3 tbsp. Ajika Korma Mix
Salt to taste
3 tbsp. yogurt
Method:
RAS MALAI RECIPE
2 lbs ricotta cheese
1/2 cup sugar
32 oz half & half milk
A pinch of saffron
1/4 tsp crushed cardamom seeds
1/2 cup blanched almonds
2 tbsp crushed green pistachios
Preparation of Ras Malai:
-Mix the cheese with sugar and little cardamom powder and spread out on a baking tray.
-Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until it sets. It should not get brown.
-Remove from oven, cool at room temperature and cut into 2" squares.
-Place them in a dessert bowl.
-Mix the other ingredients, except the pistachios well in a separate dish and pour over the squares.
-Decorate the rasmalai with pistachios, chill for 2-3 hours and then serve.
GULAB JAMUN RECIPE
1 cup Carnation Milk Powder
How to make gulab jamun:
Make the dough by combining the milk powder, Bisquick, butter. Add just enough whole milk to make a medium-hard dough. Divide the dough into 18-20 portions. Make balls by gently rolling each portion between your palms into a smooth ball. Place the balls on a plate. Cover with a damp yet dry kitchen towel.
Heat the oil on high and then lower the heat to medium. Slip in the balls into the hot oil from the side of the pan, one by one. They will sink to the bottom of the pan, but do not try to move them. Instead, gently shake the pan to keep the balls from browning on just one side. After about 5 mins, the balls will rise to the surface. The Gulab Jamuns should rise slowly to the top if the temperature is just right. Now they must be gently and constantly agitated to ensure even browning on all sides.
If the temperature of the oil is too high then the gulab jamuns will tend to break. So adjust the temperature to ensure that the gulab jamuns do not break or cook too quickly. The balls must be fried very slowly under medium temperatures. This will ensure complete cooking from inside and even browning.
Sugar Syrup
The syrup should be made earlier and kept warm. To make the hot sugar syrup add mix the 2 cups of sugar to 1 cup of water. Add 4-5 cardamom pods, slightly crushed and a few strands of "Kesar". Mix with a spoon and then heat at medium heat for 5-10 minutes until sugar is all dissolved in water. Do not overheat, that will caramelize the sugar.
Transfer this hot syrup into a serving dish. Keep warm on stove. Add the fried gulab jamuns directly into the warm syrup. Leave gulab jamun balls in sugar syrup overnight for best results. They can be served warm or at room temperature.
How Much To Eat?-Balanced Diet
Food is the basic necessity of man. It is a mixture of different nutrients such as carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals. These nutrients are essential for growth,development and maintenance of good health throughout life.They also play a vital role in meeting the special needs of pregnant and lactating women and patients recovering from illness.
It gives some ideas of which foods are good for you and how much to eat.It depends on your age, whether you're a girl or a boy, and how active you are. Kids who are more active burn more calories, so they need more calories. But we can give you some estimates for how much you need of each food group.
Food Group-I:Cereals, Grains and Products :
Food Group-IV:Fruits and Vegetables :
Balanced Diet Tips-Diet and Eating Advice
A healthy diet is even more essential for women than men. As well as pregnancy, women have to cope with debilitating hormone irregularities which can impact adversely on both health and weight. Healthy eating won't eliminate or cure these effects, but it often relieves symptoms. It's worth remembering that some foods - especially fresh fruits and vegetables, contain chemicals which are believed to exercise a powerful beneficial effect on the human body. More research is needed into the effect of these foods (eg. soybeans) to validate these claims, but all dietitians and nutritionists agree that the quality of our daily diet has a huge impact on our health, especially if we are female.
-A balanced diet and physical exercise has a major role in achieving long healthy life.
-It helps in controlling body weight,heart rate and BP.
-Produces mental and physical relaxation.
-Increase in exercise capacity and muscle performance.
-Improves blodd sugar,lowers harmful cholesterol and triglycerides and increases the beneficial HDL cholesterol.
What is a healthy diet?
The United States Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services have jointly issued a complete report on a healthy diet titled "Nutrition and Your Health: Dietary Guidelines for Americans" and "Food Guidelines for Americans". Healthy diets follow the food guide "pyramid," which recommends 6-11 servings of complex carbohydrates, 2-3 servings each of fruits and vegetables,1-2 servings each of dairy products and proteins like meat, tofu, or beans, and sparing use of added fats and sugars. In addition, the "Five A Day" Campaign is a national effort to get Americans to eat at least five servings combined from the fruit and vegetable groups per day.
Mushroom-Omelette Recipe
2 Eggs
2 tblsp chopped Button Mushroom
5 small sized chopped Onion
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp White Pepper Powder
2 tblsp Butter
pinch of Mustard Powder
chopped coriander leaves
How to make mushroom omelette:
-Beat the eggs thoroughly along with the salt, pepper powder , mustard powder and the chopped small onions.
-Heat a little of the butter in a pan and add the washed and
sliced button mushrooms.
-Toss in the butter for 2 minutes. remove the mushrooms and keep aside.
-Melt the remaining butter in a non stick pan over a medium flame
and add the beaten eggs to it.
-Spread evenly around the pan and sprinkle the mushrooms on top.
-When one side is cooked slowly fold the omelette into half with a wooden spoon.
-Remove from the flame .
- Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.