Its already November and the weather has started changing a bit....Along with some cool breeze blowing Sore throat ,cold and flu has also getting viral these days. I am having terrible cold and bad throat since last week. Today I felt like having something hot and light made my favourite Chicken and Noodle Soup ,added some veggies lying in the fridge it was light but very delicious Healthy at the same timing filling too...You can add whichever vegetables you want .

Ingredients
150- 200 gms  chicken
handfull of egg noodle
1 carrot
4-5 french beans
1/2 cup sweet corn
1/2 tomato
1 small onion
1/2 tsp black pepper crushed/ as needed
1 inch cinnamon stick
1-2 cloves
3 garlic cloves crushed
1 inch ginger crushed
1/2 tsp oregano
1-2 bay leaves
salt
4-5  cups water

Method

• Mix chicken with little salt and keep aside for 10 minutes .
• Roughly chop onion ,tomato and the vegetables.
• In a saucepan add chicken  and all the other ingredients ..
• let it boil over medium flame and it boil for 15-20 mins.
• You can also use  chicken or veg stock if you already have I didn't have so i used chicken piece with bone to get the maximum flavours in the soup.
• Sprinkle a dash of pepper before you serve .

I have not added any thickening agents like cornflour or so...i you wish you can add a tbsp of cornflour mixed in cold water and add it once hte chicken and noodles have been boiled.
You can add as many vegetables as you like ,if adding green peas make sure you boil it before adding it.

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Wishing all my readers and friends a very Happy and Blessed Diwali..May this festival of lights brighten your lives with joy and happiness...On this festive occasion I thought of sharing with you this amazing Ice cream which is now my family favourite..Its rich super yumm and delicious.....

Two months back when my hubby brought some evporated milk tins when he came down I thought of making an  ice cream with it and using evaporated milk tin instead of whipped cream..It was the first time i was using evaporated milk to make an icecream i was a bit sceptical but to my surprise the kesar pista icecream was super yummy and was loved by all...
The key to whip the evaporated milk is to use it chilled keep the tin in the freezer for 3 hours minimum and then whip it ,you will see how beautifully it triples in volume...i will soon add the stepwise pics in this post or may be a new post coming up in few days...Try this Easy Kesar pista ice cream you will love

Now over to the recipe ..the recipe is easy to remember If you do not have evaporated milk use fresh cream You can refer my previous post on Tutti Frutti Icecream Fruit ice cream for the recipe and method...

Ingredients
200 ml/ 1 cup whipped cream
1 cup / 200 ml /half tin Evaporated milk
1/2 cup pistachios chopped
few strands saffron soaked in 1/4 cup warm milk
150gms -200 gms/1/2 tin  condensed milk
few drops of rose water.

Method

• In a bowl take evaporated milk and with  electric beater beat till it triples in volume .
• In another bowl beat the  cream till it holds  soft stiff peaks 
• Now add the saffron,rose water, doubled evaporated milk and condensed milk to the whipped cream and beat on low speed till all mixes well and is creamy.
• Add the chopped pistachios  and mix gently.
• Pour it an air tight container and  freeze for 5-6 hours.
• Once set enjoy delicious Kesar/saffron and pistachio icecream

Notes
You can use chopped  almonds if you wish
I have not added any artificial colour hence the pale color..if you want you can add a tiny pinch of yellow food colour or if you want it to be pista icecream you can add 2-3 drops of pista essence and pista green color.
The evaporated milk has to be ice chilled I usually measure it once i open the tin and keep the remaining half in a sealed airtight container in the freezer for later use.
I did not add any extra sugar as i added condensed milk alone,the amount of condensed milk depends on your taste buds you may add more or less accordingly.
Keep the beaters and the bowl in the fridge for 1 hour before you start beating.

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a rich and delicious korma/kurma with succulent mutton cooked with dried apricots...i have posted one mutton korma already but in this i have not used cashews/almonds but still it tasted just yummy
You can try this with chicken as well ...I have pressure cooked the korma to save time but you can cook it on slow fire till the meat is cooked well..it will bring in more flavour and the taste will surely be better..

Ingredients
1/2 kg mutton
1/2 cup curds beaten
1 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
1/4 tsp each /javitri / mace , nutmeg/jaiphal and cardamom powder
 2 tbsp oil/ghee
dried apricots 6-7
3 med thinly onions sliced
2 tomatoes pureed
2-3 cardamom
1/2 inch cinnamon stick
2 bayleaves

Method
Cut the mutton into pieces ,wash and keep aside in a strainer to remove excess water
Fry the sliced onion till they turn golden brown n crisp n keep aside
Marinate the mutton with gimger garlic paste turmeric powder and yogurt for atleast 20 minutes.
Heat the pressure cooker vessel add ghee/oil then add bay leaves ,cardmom
Add the marinated mutton and saute for 8-10 minutes
Then add crushed brown onions and mix well.
Now  add tomato puree  and fry for few minutes
Add the coriander powder ,cumin powder red chilli powder and saute till the oil separates
Add about 3 cups water
Cover the pressure cooker with lid and cook till its done ..
Once cooked release the pressure and sprinkle garam masala powder,nutmeg and cardamom powder and apricots ( Check notes) mix and just let it simmer for  a while.
Serve hot with rice/pulao /naan
I enjoyed this with Plain biryani rice which I posted earlier  you can find the link here

Notes 
You can even grind the fried onions with 1 tbsp water
To make it more rich you can add 1 tbsp cashew paste to the marinade or grind 10 cashews with the tomato After you add nutmeg,mace powder you could add 1/2 tsp kewra water I have added 2 drops of kewra essence..this gives a nice aroma
You can soak the dried apricots in water for 10 -15 minutes before you add it in the end or you can add the dried apricots along with the mutton ,it will give a nice sweet taste

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Balushahi or Badusha is a Very popular Indian sweet/ mithai .Balushai or Badusha is made on festive occasions mainly diwali or boli..Balushahi's or Badusha are indian doughnuts that are flaky yet melt in mouth and so delicious.

Few months back when my cousins visited me they brought few sweets along from a very famous sweet shop at my place when i opened one box i saw there were balushahi's in..To be honest I was not so happy ...lol I expected Malai Peda/Cham Cham which is my fav ..But then when i tasted it I absolutely loved this delicious sweet I wondered why i didnt try it all these years .It was Flaky sweet at the same time soft I absolutely loved it .I thought of trying it at home since i had the recipe written long ago in my old recipe book .I was happy with the outcome ..the balushahi's were super delish and turned out just as i tasted from the sweet shop which my sis brought..

Do try these balushahi this Diwali and enjoy these delicious treat with your family .

Ingredients:
1 1/2  cups flour/maida
4 tbsp curds chilled
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp ghee
1-2 tbsp cold water to knead if required
 ghee /dalda for deep frying
For the syrup
2 cup sugar
1 cup water
few strands of saffron
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
chopped pistachios to garnish

Method
Mix the baking powder and baking soda and sslt in the flour and sift it
To this add melted ghee and mix till it looks like breadcrumbs
Add beaten curds/yogurt to the flour and mix.
Mix to form a dough,the dough won't be smooth don't worry we need the dough to be like that .
Now cover the dough with a cloth and let it rest or 45 -50 mins.
Without kneading the dough divide the dough into 8-9 balls.
Shape it into round balls and make a dent with the thumb.
For smoother yet flaky balushahi take the small portion on your palm flatten it and fold it do this 4 times then roll to ball and make dent  this way the balushahi will be smooth yet flaky .

Heat the ghee /dalda in a kadhai ,the ghee should be medium hot
Drop a small ball of dough to check if the ghee is hot,the bal will float on top this indicates the ghee is hot.
Fry the balushahis oe medium  flame
Fry in 2-3 batches don't overcrowd while frying.
Make sugar syrup by boiling sugar and water  together  till it reaches 1 to 1 and  1/2string consistency.
Add saffron and cardamom powder to the sugar syrup.
Soak the balushahi's in the warm sugar syrup for 10-15 mins.
Turn the balushahi with spoon so that the other side is also soaked as well .
Garnish with chopped pistachios

 Notes
Use chilled curds and chilled water to mix the dough .
I use 3 to 4 tbsp curd and skip water .you may use 2 tbsp curd and about 1 to 2 tbsp chilled water .
Fry on med low flame it takes about 4 to 5 min in each side , let the balushahi fry until light golden .
Do not put the flame high while frying the balushahi ,or else it won't cook from inside.

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I have shared many cakes so far we prefer semolina cakes at home .I have shared  few Semolina/Rava/Sugee Cakes before.. You can have a look at Suji/Soji/Sugee Cake cake,Sugee Almond Cake  and Coconut Sugee Cake Basbousa they all are equally good..This Coconut Cake which I'm sharing today is one of our family favourite .We normally make this for Rosaries /get together  at our place..

The measurements  of the cake is easy to remember as I use a cup /tin ( I use milkmaid tin) to measure .Check notes for measurements in gms... I also add cream/malai and milkpowder to make it more soft and fluffy .Do try it out as All ingredients are easily available at home and the measurements are easy to remember..The result is soft and delicious Coconut Cake..The garnish of pista and almonds is purely optional I used it since I had lots of pista  Check the notes for eggless option..You can add cashews or keep it plain it taste great as it is..

Ingredients
a tin of desiccated coconut
a tin of rava/semolina/suji/sugee( I used fine/medium would work well too)
a tin of maida/all purpose flour
a tin of powdered sugar
1/2 cup of malai/cream
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup of milk powder
4 eggs
200 gms butter
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp vanilla essence
Pista and almonds as needed

Method

• Sift maida/flour and baking powder and mix milk powder and keep aside
• Grease the baking pan with butter/oil and line it with parchment/butter paper.
• Take a big bowl and beat together butter and sugar till creamy and fluffy
• To this add eggs one at a time and beat on med speed.
• Add malai and beat well.
• Add vanilla and milk and beat .
• Now add the semolina coconut and flour and beat till all mix 
• Add milk to loosen the mixture ,mix well with a spatula
• Pour the batter in the prepared cake pan and level the batter with a spatula.
• Spread a generous amount of pista and almond silver and dab it with a butter paper so that it sticks to the cake.
• Pre heat the oven  for 10 mins at 180 degree 
• Bake till the tooth pick inserted comes out clean,It takes 50-60 mins depending on your oven.
• Once baked allow the cake to cool in the pan then demould and slice it..

 Enjoy delicious Coconut cake with a cup of coffee or soft drink

Notes
After posting this recipe I had many questions on how to make it eggless....Just replace eggs with 1 cup of yogurt not too sour..
Adding cream/malai makes it more soft ,you can skip if you wish..
I have mentioned that you can use any cup  ... tea cup or measurement cup or tin to measure ,Tin which i always use to measure rice n other stuff is nothing but an empty Nestle Condensed Milk tin ..the regular one which weighs 400 gms when full...
** For those still having doubts here is the measurement in grams..flour,semolina/rava,sugar all weighs 250 gms...dessicated coconut actually weighes 100 gms but you can always add more for more coconut-y feel..i normally add around 150 gms-200 gms dessicated coconut..
Also my 1 cup measures 200 ml...

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