Zzaika

                                             

Usually when all burners of my cooking range are occupied and I feel like making something nice,I start thinking of using my convection oven. Such random cooking sprees usually end in me either baking a cake or if it is the start of the week, baking a fresh loaf of bread.

Nothing smells better than a fresh baked bread and though I wish it could last a little more, it usually gets over within the next 24 hours. I am not complaining though!

Here is the recipe, for beginners,which just gets better with time. Infact it can very well be called " Bread Recipe for Dummies" (pun intended!)

• All-purpose Unbleached Flour : 3 Cups,
• Active dry yeast:  2 Packets or 1 1/2 Tbsps,
• Milk: 1/2 cup. I use 2% Reduced fat, you can use as per your preference,
• Butter: 1 Tbsp,Unsalted
• Water: warm 2 cups,
• Sugar: 1 Tsp,
• Salt : 1/2 Tsp.

Method

This is an all time favorite soup and it is so filling. When I had come to US of A, this was the only soup I use to love at Olive Garden and wondered if I could ever make it. Finally I succeeded in making this a few weeks back and hubby says " this is better and doubtlessly much fresher in taste than Olive Garden" . What else do I want to hear! The good part about this soup is that it is loaded with so many vegetables and pasta that your kids will love it too! We usually have this along with home-made garlic bread (Recipe I will be posting soon) or if we are in a mood to indulge ,we have it before raviolis or lasagna. But this is a very good meal by itself too. On a busy day, I love making this as it gets ready in barely 30 minutes.If you are looking for weight loss, having this soup will definitely help you in achieving your goal.

• Heat the olive oil in a stock pot and add onions and garlic till the onions become translucent.
• Add the zucchini,celery and green beans and saute for 3-4 minutes.
• Now add the vegetable broth, carrots,tomatoes,beans ( both) and spices along with water and let it boil for around 15 minutes.
• Once the soup reaches a slightly thick consistency, add baby spinach and pasta and boil for 10 minutes more.
• The soup is ready to be served. You can add some grated fresh mozzarella cheese as well!

Many of my friends complain that they do not have some ingredients and are worried if they can get the same taste with some other substitute ingredient. Following are the substitutes you can use:

Original                                     Substitute

Parsley                                       Cilantro (use in half proportion)

Basil                                           Tulsi (In India)

Thyme                                        Ajwain (carom seeds)

Oregano                                     Ajwain Leaves,Rosemary

For the koftas (dumplings):

• Potatoes: Boiled,peeled and mashed : 2 nos.
• Mozzarella cheese:   1/4 cup,
• Concentrated Milk Solids/Khoya (available in Indian stores):  7 oz,
• Paneer / Cottage Cheese : 7 oz,
• Cumin Powder: 1/2 Tsp,
• Coriander leaves:  1/4 cup,
• Green chillies: 1-2 depending on taste,finely chopped,
• Cornstarch (Optional) : 1 Tsp,
• Oil:  2 cups for deep frying,
• Salt: As per taste

• Ginger-Garlic paste: 1 Tbsp,
• White / Red Onions:  2 medium :Cut and boiled,
• Cumin seeds:  1 Tsp,
• Heavy Cream : 1.5 Tbsp,
• Oil: 1 Tbsp,
• Red Chilli Powder:  1 Tsp (I use Kashmiri Red Chilly Powder because I love it's color. You can use regular Red chilly powder as well.)
• Turmeric Powder : 1 Tsp,
• Coriander Powder: 1.5 Tsp,
• Cashews : 1 Tbsp,
• Poppy Seeds: 1 Tsp,
• Charoli Seeds ( If you don't have them,you can use sunflower seeds as a substitute): 1 Tsp,
• Milk : 1/2 cup
• Water : 1 cup,
• Salt: as per taste,
• Coriander for garnishing.

Method:

• Grate the paneer, potatoes and khoya and mix it with the rest of the ingredients,except cornstarch.
• If the mixture feels wet to your hands, then add the cornstarch. This will absorb all the moisture present because of the potatoes and will bind the mixture together.
• Shape them in oval shape with your hands and refrigerate them for minimum 4 hours. You can also keep them refrigerated overnight . I refrigerate them overnight when I have to make this dish the next day.
• Heat the oil in a wok and when sufficiently heated ,fry the koftas (dumplings) till they are golden brown in color. Do not fry longer otherwise the cheese will start oozing out and make a big mess in the wok.
• Keep them on a sheet of absorbing paper.

For the Gravy:

• Pressure cook the cut onions for 2 whistles.When cooled, grind it to a fine paste.
• Take milk in a bowl and add the cashews, poppy seeds and chironji/ sunflower seeds and keep it aside for an hour. After an hour , grind this to a very fine paste and keep aside.
• Heat oil in a pan, and when sufficiently hot , add the cumin seeds and wait till they crackle.
• Now add the ginger-garlic paste and saute for 1-2 minutes. 
• Once you get the nice aroma of the ginger -garlic paste, add the onion paste and saute, till the paste starts leaving the oil.
• Now add the red chilly powder,turmeric powder,coriander powder and salt and saute it till it the flavours are infused well in the paste.
• Now add the cashew paste made in step number 2 and let this mixture cook.Add some water as well. 
• When this mixture starts leaving some oil,cool it and then grind it again to give the gravy a real creamy texture ,similar to the one we get in restaurants.
• Now add some table cream and let it simmer for 2-3 more minutes. 
• Add the koftas to this gravy and garnish it with fresh,chopped coriander and some cream
• Ta-da! Your Makhmali koftas/Malai koftas are ready.
• Serve them with hot naan (recipe coming) along with some boondi raita.