Indian breads

Romantic Valentine’s Day Dinner Menu Ideas

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Valentine's Day Menu Ideas

Imagine you have no plans for Valentine’s day and decide that you are going to play it by the ear and ask your love what he/she wants to do and will just go along but to your surprise you arrive home and he or she has made a fantastic dinner for you. Wouldn’t you be on cloud 9? Well now, put yourself in that loved ones shoes and why not do the same for them.

All you need is couple of hours and a lovely three-four course meal can be prepared in the comfort of your own kitchen. If you are pressed for time on V-day 2014 then you can even do several of these dishes in advance or a day ahead and then just put everything together right before he/she is due to arrive. Turn down the lights, put some soft music on, set the table, light up some candles, pour some wine ( or mango lassi for non-alcoholic drinkers) and get ready to enjoy the most romantic day of the year with that special someone. Here are few Dinner menu ideas from my kitchen which will surely leave them impressed.

You can keep it really simple by just making Chicken Curry or Vegetable Coconut curry and serve it with Butter Garlic Naan. Ofcourse, their has to be a dessert. How about Making some Gulabjamun’s and serving them with Kulfi or perhaps, trying out some pistachios garnished Rasgullas.

To keep it really casual, try Tandoori Chicken Pizza. You can make your own crust or simply buy a premade crust. Get creative and may be cut the base (pizza dough) in the shape of a heart 🙂 If your guy likes wings try our Baked Chicken Wings Recipe. Afterall Valentine’s day is all about making your sweetheart feel special.

If the above ideas don’t click with you then how about trying Option 1, 2, 3 or 4

Option 1 (For Vegetarians) A very simple Indian Vegetarian menu

Appetizer: Aloo Bonda, Gobhi 65 or good ol’ Samosas. Not just any samosas.. try our recipe for Baked Spinach Samosas

Main : Got to include one paneer dish like Achari Paneer or Paneer Butter Masala. Perhaps pair it with Lentils curry like Dal Makhani or simply combination of vegetables of their choice and make Navratan Korma. Want to go all out…. Make Malai Kofta.

Serve with Masala Rice or Naan.

Dessert: Want something simple yet tasty ..try Coconut Burfi or Carrot Halwa

Option 2 for Lamb Lovers

Does he like Lamb? You can prepare Lamb Kabobs, Grilled Lamb Chops or traditional lamb Dish called Lamb Rogan Josh.

Finish off the meal with some Rice pudding: Kheer Recipe here.

Option 3 for Seafood lovers

Try Shrimp Tikka Masala, Bengali Fish Curry or Best Ever Spiced Salmon.

Option 4 for Chicken Fans

Hands down one of the best dishes you can prepare for your Valentine is Butter Chicken. You make it all the time? How about preparing Baked Butter Chicken Version or if novice at cooking Indian food then try preparing simple Butter chicken. 

Butter Chicken goes well with Roti, Paratha or Veg Pilaf. Enjoy a cup of Chai tea after this sumptuous meal.

How to make Pav Buns at home – Homemade Indian Dinner Rolls Recipe

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Pav bhaji Buns

Want to learn how to make Pav Buns at home (part of popular Indian street food- Pav Bhaji) ?Normally Pav Buns are made out of all purpose or bread flour. However, I used mainly Whole Wheat Flour (in combination with all purpose flour) and minimal butter to prepare this healthy version of Indian style Dinner rolls.

These Pav buns are best enjoyed with Bhaji-
Recipe here: Pav Bhaji 

Ingredients:
2.25 Cups Whole Wheat Flour (2 and 1/4 cup flour)
1.25 Cup all purpose flour (1 and 1/4 cup flour)
(In total 3.5 cups flour)
1 pack of yeast- 8 gm (equals to 2.25 tsp )
50 ml lukewarm water (1/4 cup)
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2-3 tbsp oil (butter)
3/4 cup lukewarm water (to knead the dough)
and small amount of butter to add on top of buns.

Method:
-Mix salt with flours and set aside.
– Mix yeast in 1/4 cup water. Add sugar. Let it stand for 10 mins until yeast becomes frothy.
– Mix in yeast with flour. Add 1 tbsp oil and mix together.
– Gradually add water to form smooth dough.
– Once the dough is ready, add tbsp of oil more (basically pat the oil onto dough). Cover the dough with wet kitchen cloth and let it stand for 3-4 hours.
– Once the dough doubles in volume, form 12 tennis ball size dough balls. Place them onto greased baking tray. Once again, let the dough balls rise (approx 45 mins)
– Preheat the oven to 400 F and bake for 10-15 mins. Then add on butter/oil on top and cook until tops are golden brown (another 15 mins or so)
– Serve these delicious and freshly made buns with Bhaji or curry of your choice.

How to make Butter Garlic Naan – No Egg, No Yeast Version

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Butter Garlic Naan

Want to learn how to make healthy Butter Garlic Naan at home? Well,this is a No Egg- No Yeast recipe and I say it’s healthy because 1. You can control the amount of Butter you want to use (I used minimal) 2. Instead of using only all purpose flour (Maida)- we’ve used Whole Wheat flour as well.

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup yogurt
1 tbsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Garlic Salt
4 cloves of Garlic – minced
(We will use 2 cloves in the dough and use 2 cloves as a topping)
2-3 stalks of Cilantro leaves for garnish
4 tbsp butter
1 tbsp oil
2/3 cup water

Method:
1. Mix all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, Baking powder and garlic salt.
2. Add minced garlic in yogurt. Mix well. Add this and 2 tbsp butter in the dough.
3. Mix to form a crumbly dough.
4. Gradually add water to form smooth dough. Pat with some oil and cover with a wet kitchen cloth. Let stand for 1 hour.
5. Preheat oven and baking sheet to 550 F.
6. Roll out dough in the form of a naan. Use dry flour as needed.
7. Put Uncooked Naan on preheated baking sheet. Grease the baking sheet a little.
8. Bake at 550 F for no more than 5 mins. After 3-4 mins. Flip over the side so that both sides have nice brown marks.
Naan is now ready. Serve with your favourite Curry.

Top 10 Must Try Indian Breads

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Ok, so you are in love with curry, spices but have you had Indian breads? Perhaps, you’ve tried Naan but how about others? Here is a list of top 10 must try Indian Breads that you got to eat before you die:

1. Plain Parantha: Goes well with dry indian dishes (called sabji’s), raita (yogurt preparations) and lentils (Dal)
2. Roti: Known by various other names like chapati, phulka/fulka, this simple Indian bread is the most common Indian food basically staple diet of east indians.
3. Aloo Parantha: This Potato stuffed Indian flatbread goes very well with plain natural homemade yogurt. They are heavy so I am usually done after two.
4. Luchi Bread or Poori: This deep fried indian flatbread is not for the faint hearted. It tastes great with chole (chickpeas) and makes for a perfect Sunday Brunch.
5. Gobi Parantha: If you love cauliflower, you’ll like this stuffed Indian flatbread.
6. Kulcha Recipe: This yeast free simple kulcha recipe is free of any artificial flavors, preservatives or other harmful ingredients. Again, great with curries and sabji’s.
7. Mooli Parantha: Although a little stinky, these Daikon radish filled paranthas (stuffed indian flatbread) will keep you full for hours.
8. Besan Puda: This bread is made using chickpeas flour and some other simple Indian spices. They make for a great snack.
9. Sooji Uttapam: These Indian style semolina crepes are quick and easy. Try them if you are craving salty pancakes.
10. Naan in the Grill: My favourite Indian bread and most popular across the nation. . You can also try making Naan in the Oven at home if you don’t have grill or use your good old skillet.