Mango Mastani | Pune's Mango Mastani | How to make Mango Mastani at home

I had been wanting to taste this mango mastani for quite a while after coming to Pune but never got a chance. This year after seeing so many posts from dear blogger friends and how they were describing it to be a Pune speciality, I so wanted to have it. So as many would recommend, I too went to a nearby outlet of 'Sujata Mastani' to have it. But was so diasppointed when what I got was a thin runny and over sweet milkshake. No ice cream and no toppings. I am sure that I was at the wrong place at the wrong time. If I had been to an outlet in the Pune city I would not have been disappointed. Also I later came to know that for toppings you need to order special mastani. 

Anyways as I had no plans to travel to the city during the summer, I decided to make my own mastani. It is so easy to put up and such a treat in the summer when mangoes are plenty. So I made it one fine Sunday afternoon, and bohoo the hubby was very delighted to have it after his afternoon nap. And it looks so pretty too that you will think twice before having them ;) It is said that Mastani, the beautiful Muslim princess who stole the Maratha Peshwa ruler Bajirao's heart is the inspiration behind the name of this drink. Mastani is said to be one of the most beautiful and elegant lady in Indian history. And hence this beautiful drink is also named so after the beautiful Princess warrior. 

And I also read here that, initially when this drink was served people used to remark 'mast' (awesome in Hindi) and hence this drink was named Mastani. If you are in Pune and would want to have this, try at Sujata Mastani or Gujjar Cold Drink. I have not personally had them here but have read rave reviews about them. Also have heard that the Custard Apple Mastani too tastes awesome. So now shall we see how to make them at home, if you are not coming by Pune anytime soon :) I know mangoes are sill available, so grab them and make some Mastani before they disappear from the market !

Preparation Time : 10 minutes

Cooking Time : 30 minutes

Serves : 3-4 persons

I Used:

Mango	-	2 cups chopped
Sugar	-	1 tbsp
Milk	-	1 cup (boiled, cooled and chilled)
Ice cream	-	2-3 scoops
Almonds	-	1 tbsp (slivered)
Pista	-	1 tbsp (sliced)
Tutti frutti	-	1 tbsp
Glazed cherry	-	2-3 nos (cut into 2)
Mango cubes	-	few for garnish

The Way:

1. Peel and chop the mangoes roughly. Take them in a blender. Add sugar and give a quick blend. Now add milk (boiled, cooled and chilled) and blend to a smooth puree

2. Pour this thick milkshake into a tall serving glass

3. Add to it a large scoop of ice cream 

4. Top it with tutti frutti, slivered almonds, sliced pistachos, glazed cherry and some mango chunks (if needed)

5. They taste great when chilled. So I keep the mangoes and milk in fridge before making them. Or you can add some ice cubes while making the mango puree

Notes:

• I used a large banganapalli mango to make this. Alphonso would taste even better
• I used vanilla flavour ice cream. You can use any flavour like mango or pista of your choice
• Toppings are purely your choice. I use the ones I have available at that time
• You can even use canned mangoes to make this
• Serve it immediately else the ice cream would melt
• Add sugar (or skip) as per your preference
• Do not add water while pureeing the mango. The milkshake should be thick and creamy

Cheers,

Chitz

a

Avocado Kiwi Smoothie

I know I go on long unannounced breaks, but that has become completely unavoidable these days.. So what am I back with? It is another refreshing and healthy smoothie for all fruit lovers out there. Trust me, this combo tastes great and I just couldn't resist making them over and again..  And for those who do not like to eat fruits raw, what better way to take in those nutrients, than with this sugar free smoothie?

I Took : 10 minutes

Serves : 2 tall glasses

I Used:

Avocado	-	½ of a large one
Kiwi	-	2 nos
Milk	-	¼ cup
Almond powder	-	2 tbsp
Honey	-	2 tbsp
Mint leaves	-	A sprig
Ice cubes	-	3-4 cubes

The Way:

1. Place milk, almond powder, honey, mint leaves and ice cubes in blender & blend smoothly.
2. Now add the scraped avocado and cubed kiwi and blend again till smooth & creamy.
3. Serve chill for the refreshed feel !

Cheers,

Chitz

Halloween Special - Vegan Pumpkin Bread - Baking Partner Challenge #15

Come the month of October, it's festival time !! Dussera & Diwali here in India & the infamous Halloween in US. For me Halloween means kids in scary outfits & pumpkins carved in funny shapes ;) Actually I get reminded of the Harry Potter Halloween dinner scene :D Since pumpkin is such an inevitable part of Halloween, we Baking Partners decided to bake some Pumpkin bread for the occasion. So when Swathi announced the recipes & asked us to choose from among the three variants of pumpkin bread, my eyes & heart fell for the Vegan version. 

It is such a breeze recipe, just like a normal cake where in you combine all wet ingredients & dry ingredients separately & eventually mix them both & bake ! I was so much in love with the end result ! It was so soft & tender & tasty. I even took some to my send-off party (by the ladies gang ;)) back in Norway & all the ladies loved them. When they ask you for the recipe, you know that they too loved it to the core. So what you waiting for my pals, try this out soon & you too are gonna enjoy baking & eating them like us :)

Recipe Source: Here

I Took: 40 + 50 minutes

Serves: 1 loaf

I Used:

All purpose Flour	-	1 cup
Whole Wheat Flour	-	¾ cup
Dark Brown Sugar	-	1 cup (I used normal sugar)
Baking Soda	-	1 tsp
Baking Powder	-	½ tsp
Salt	-	½ tsp
Nutmeg	-	½ tsp
Cinnamon	-	½ tsp
Allspice	-	½ tsp
Cloves	-	¼ tsp
Pumpkin Purée	-	1 cup (Refer first 2 steps)
Oil	-	½ cup
Maple Syrup	-	3 tbsp ( I omitted this)
Water	-	3 tbsp
Walnuts or pepitas	-	½ cup - chopped (I used almonds)

The Way:

1. Peel the skin off the pumpkin & rinse them well. Cut them into big chunks and pressure cook or microwave with ½ cup water for 15 minutes
2. Allow them to cool. Then blender it to make a fine puree. If you want to remove the extra moisture, strain the puree using a cheese cloth. Set aside
3. For this recipe, you can also blend the spices along with the boiled pumpkin !
4. Preheat oven to 175 °C. Grease and flour a loaf pan
5. In a large bowl mix together the all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices (Nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves & allspice)
6. In a small bowl whisk together pumpkin, oil, maple syrup, and water
7. Add wet mixture to dry, combine until just moistened. The batter will be very thick, it is not a problem!
8. Fold in nuts and pour the batter into the prepared pan
9. Bake for about 45-50 minutes or until top is browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. It took 50 minutes for me
10. Allow it to cool for 20 minutes. Use a butter knife to gently loosen bread from sides of pan & then invert onto a cooling rack

Cheers,

Chitz

Chinese Almond Cookies - Baking Partner Challenge #13

Here comes yet another beautiful challenge from the Baking Partners. This time it's cookies from around the world & I chose to go Chinese with these beautiful Almond cookies. I have baked Ameretti cookies (Italian) before, so I was sure that this would also be acceptable to our taste buds. And as I had expected this tasted crunchy & great with the lovely almond flavor. It's very easy to make & I found the method quite similar to the Indian flat bread 'Chapathi/Roti' :) Try this out as your yummy tea time snack !

Recipe from here

Makes: 8-12 cookies

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Refrigeration Time: 1 hour
Baking Time: 20-25 minutes

I Used:

All purpose flour	-	¾ cup + 1 tbsp
Butter	-	4 tbsp
Sugar	-	¼ cup
Almond paste	-	2 ½ tbsp
Baking powder	-	½ tsp
Vanila Essence	-	½ tsp
Grated lemon zest	-	1 tsp
Salt	-	¼ tsp
Egg	-	1 tbsp
Beaten egg white	-	of 1 egg
Almonds	-	8-12 no

The Way:

1. In a large bowl sift together all purpose flour, baking powder & salt together. For even mixing sift for two or three times
2. Beat the egg nicely & keep aside
3. In another wide bowl cream the butter until pale yellow. You can use an electric mixer or whisk. I used whisk
4. Add ¼ cup sugar, almond paste, lemon zest & amaretto (or vanilla essence) & mix until it is smooth & lump free
5. Now add about one third of the beaten egg and mix well. Now gradually add the flour & mix well until everything is fully incorporated. Use hands instead of whisk while incorporating flour
6. Transfer the dough into a parchment paper & refrigerate it for about an hour
7. Preheat the oven to 175 degree C in conventional mode. Adjust the rack to the lower third of the oven. Line baking sheets with parchment paper
8. Once the dough is chilled, prep your working surface with 1 tbsp of sugar. Roll the dough over the sugar and then make small balls out of it (like you do for Indian flatbread or chapathi)
9. Flatten out the balls into cookie shapes of your desired diameter & thickness using your palm. Place them two inches apart on the prepared baking sheets
10. Brush each cookie lightly with beaten egg white and press a whole or chopped almond into the center of each 
11. Bake for 15- 20 minutes or until golden brown around the edges
12. Remove the baked cookies from the oven and allow to cool  to room temperature before serving

Notes:

Almond paste is nothing but powdered almond. Grind around 15-20 almonds in a mixie to get the above mentioned almond paste

Cheers,

Chitz

Mughlai Chicken | Murg Mughlai

Chicken cooked with onions & spices and served with cream & almond sauce

I love cooking chicken.. That's an ingredient which will almost always guarantee taste, unless you mess with it that badly :D  So here I am, to tell a tale of my recent success story - "Mughlai Chicken".. My mom used to make this a long ago, when the entire family was in the prime of our healthy & extra indulgence of cream & nuts were a routine.. Ahh, Bliss !! Mughlai Chicken, Butter Chicken, Chicken 65.. the list was never ending. It had been a long while since I had this, so I succumbed to the craving & went ahead & prepared it.. Suits best with Rotis & Naan, but not a crime if u pair it up with steamed rice coz it again tastes great ;)

What I loved the most was that, my kitchen was smelling awesome after I cooked this.. The smell of ghee mixed with our Indian spices & cream.. Yupz.. I was loving it ;) B\ut the only minus is that I can't make it a routine in my menu, coz of the extra calories that I wud have to burn out.. Only if tasty dishes were healthy & nutritious to the core !! So enoough of my ramblings about this dish, let's check out how this is made :)

Recipe Source: Adapted from here & here

Serves: 2-3 persons

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

I Used:

Chicken	-	400 gm
Onion	-	1 medium - grated
Ginger-Garlic paste	-	2 tsp
Cinnamon	-	An inch piece
Cardamom	-	2 nos
Red Chilly powder	-	1 tsp
Coriander powder	-	1 ½ tsp
Cumin seed powder	-	½ tsp
Garam Masala	-	2 tsp
Cream	-	3-4 tbsp
Egg	-	1 no
Almonds	-	15 no
Sugar	-	1 tsp
Ghee	-	2 tbsp
Salt	-	As Needed

The Way:

1. Blanch the almonds - Soak the almonds in hot water for 5 minutes & then remove their skin
2. Grind the almonds to a fine paste & keep aside
3. Heat ghee in a pan over medium heat. Add the grated onions & fry them till they become translucent
4. Then add in ginger-garlic paste, cinnamon & cardamom. Saute well till the onions turn golden brown & the raw smell goes off
5. Now add the chicken (Refer notes below) and mix well so that the chicken pieces are smeared with the onion paste. Add salt and ½ cup water and cook till the chicken is half done. This may take around 12-15 minutes
6. Meanwhile, in a small bowl mix together cream, eggs, sugar & powdered almonds thoroughly. Use a whisk to thicken, if the cream is liquidy
7. Lower the heat once the chicken is half cooked. Add the cream mixture to it
8. Cook on low flame until the chicken is cooked & tender for another 5-7 minutes
9. Garnish with flaked almonds if u wish :)

Serve with hot phulkas or Naan :-)

Notes:

Instead of adding chicken pieces directly, you can grill it & add to the sauteed onions which would give you an extra zing. Marinate it for half an hour with red chilly powder, salt, turmeric, lemon juice & a little curd before grilling :)

Linking this to the event 'Flavours of Cusines - Mughlai' hosted by Shruthi & started by Julie

Cheers,

Chitz

Cream Fruit Salad

Assorted fruits & nuts in Cream

This is a post that has been in my drafts for a week, the one which I had planned to post before I started to India. But in the hurry burry of the packing & cleaning & last minute shopping & preparations, I did not get time. Yes, this was a sudden twist in the normal vacation plan of ours. We had to start 2 weeks ahead of our anticipated plan & that too in a notice of 5 days.. So u can imagine the work package that come with it :D But anyways happy to get an extended vacation & enjoyment in the scorching heat of South India !! 

So back to the post, this is a very simple & quick dessert that can be prepared with the available fruits & nuts at hand. I had it at my friend Rameena's place & immediately fell in love with it. And so one day when I had a craving I messaged her for the recipe.. I knew it was a simple one, but wanted to get it right, exactly like hers ;) You know, this is an easy way to feed fruits to kids & also even adults too !! So, off to the recipe ;)

I Took: 20 minutes

Serves: 4 ppl

I Used:

Cream - 300 ml Vanilla Essence - 1 tsp Sugar - 3 tbsp or As Needed Mango - 1 no Apple - 1 no Honey dew - ½ a normal sized fruit Almonds - As Needed Cashews - As Needed Raisins - As Needed

The Way:

1. Whip up the cream with sugar & vanilla essence till it gives a nice foamy texture
2. Cut the fruits into cubes as for fruit salad and add it to the whipped up cream
3. Add the chopped nuts and give a mix. This tastes more heavenly when you roast the nuts in a little ghee before adding to the whipped up cream
4. Refrigerate for an hour or overnight as time permits & serve chilled

Notes:

You can use any fruit & nut of your choice. I used the ones that I had available that day !!

Cheers,

Chitz

Pineapple Delight

Pineapple Biscuit Pudding

Colorful, cheery looking dessert :D, rite ?? This was yet another favorite childhood snack of mine. I was not much a fan of biscuits or fruits back then. But this pudding used to set my spirits high. And I still don't remember where my mom got this recipe from, but her making them and me and my sis ogling at it is still etched in my memory. My mom used to save the cream which she got from boiling milk everyday. And when it was of a considerable amount for the pudding, we would have a pudding day !! Wow.. I simply love those days. 

This one is definitely easy to make and requires no cooking. So if you want to try out some  new dessert for your weekend party, here goes the recipe.

I Took: 30 minutes

Serves: 4-5 servings

I Used:

Pineapple	-	½ a medium sized one
Sugar	-	¼ cup
Marie Biscuits	-	16 nos
Cream	-	300 ml
Cashew nuts	-	15-20 nos
Almond	-	15-20 nos
Pista	-	15-20 nos
Glazed Cherry	-	To decorate

The Way:

Prep Part:

1. Cut pineapple into square pieces, preferably around the same width as that of the biscuits.
2. Mix the sugar and water in a pan and boil till the sugar melts. Add the pineapple pieces to the sugar solution and keep for a while for the pineapple to absorb in the sweetness.  
3. You can ignore the above 2 steps and use tinned/preserved pineapples
4. Chop the nuts finely using a knife or a blender.

Assembling Part:

1. In a pudding dish, line the pineapple pieces. 
2. On top of it, line the biscuits after dipping them in the sugar solution. Use the sugar solution used for the pineapple or the sugar syrup in the tinned pineapples.
3. Add cream on top of that and sprinkle in the nuts.
4. Repeat the above order and decorate with chopped cherries on top.

Refrigerate the pudding for about 2 hours. Serve cold :-)

Slice out a full portion of pineapple-biscuit-creamy nuts and enjoy the treat.

Cheers,

Chitz