Hi friends, Wish you all a very happy 2020. Let this new year brings all the joy and prosperity!!. Bread kaja is an easy and interesting Indian style dessert recipe with bread. It can be prepared quickly and instantly with less procedures. Last week when I was looking for some easy sweet recipes / dessert recipes using leftover bread slices, I came across this bread kaja recipe in Hari Chandana’s blog.
Bread kaja sweet is a simplified version of Shahi tukda which is a rich and famous Mughal dessert. For making bread kaja, we have to just deep fry the bread slices in oil / ghee and dip in flavored sugar syrup. Rabri / sweetened milk is not needed for this sweet. So preparation time is lesser. You can make it under 10 minutes for your surprise guest. Kids will love it. I thought this sweet would be ideal for this new year celebration.
When I googled for images, I found bread kaja looks triangle in shape similar to Shahi tukra. But I made in small squares to attract the kids. Its an interesting recipe to empty the leftover bread slices. You can make and consume it immediately for crispy tasting bread OR you can soak the fried bread slices in sugar syrup overnight and enjoy like bread gulab jamun. It tastes so soft and flavorful. In fact I loved the soft and well soaked bread pieces more than crispy ones. Ok friends, do try this yummy, easy bread kaja sweet recipe for this new year 2020 and share your feedback with me.
Once again wish you all a very happy new year!!. This year I have planned to start my YouTube channel in Tamil as requested by many of you during last year. Hope you will continue to give your love and support for my new venture too. Thank you !
Bread kaja recipe - Easy sweet with bread
Bread kaja recipe - Easy sweet with bread for dessert & snack.
Take the bread slices and cut into squares or a triangle.
Heat oil and deep fry bread pieces till golden in color. Drain in a tissue paper.
Melt sugar in water and make sugar syrup of half string consistency.
Add rose essence and saffron thread. Mix the syrup. Add the fried bread pieces.
Soak it for few minutes and serve warm by garnishing with chopped nuts.
BREAD KAJA RECIPE - STEP BY STEP PICTURES
Take the bread slices and discard the brown part if you wish. I used the brown part too. Chop into square shaped pieces or into triangles.
Heat oil in a kadai. Deep fry the bread pieces in medium flame till golden brown in both the sides. Remove and drain the excess oil in a tissue paper.
Melt sugar in water and make sugar syrup. Boil and bring the syrup to half string consistency. i.e Take little syrup in your thumb finger and press with pointer finger. Release it, check if the string is formed and gets cut. This is called half string consistency. Switch off the flame and add rose essence, saffron threads.
Dip the fried bread pieces in sugar syrup and soak for few minutes by flipping both the sides. Sugar syrup will be absorbed by the bread pieces. Garnish with chopped nuts. You can serve it immediately if you like crispy tasting bread else soak overnight and serve soft bread pieces which tastes like bread gulab jamun.
Stays good for a day or two. Enjoy !
Note
You can use cardamom powder instead of rose essence.
You can also bake the bread pieces or toast in a toaster instead of deep frying. But taste differs.
Recently I came across this wheat flour pizza without yeast and oven in Cooking shooking Youtube channel. As I was craving to eat pizzas, I tried it instantly. It came out so well. Though the taste of this atta pizza cannot be compared with the regular pizza dough made with all purpose flour and yeast, It is really good and a healthy alternative.
As I had already shared a tawa pizza recipe, making this one was not so difficult for me. In this recipe, cooking pizza without oven is slightly different. Its more like baking cake in a kadai or pressure cooker. Salt is being used. Also I made a thin crust pizza for Raksha and medium crust pizza for myself and Sendhil. So pizza in the pic looks thin and not fluffy. But the pizza base was really soft. One couldn’t guess that this pizza is yeast free.
Baking powder, baking soda and curd are the most important ingredients in this recipe. So do not skip any. I served it hot by garnishing with Dominno's pizza seasoning. It was yummy ! Ok friends, lets see how to make wheat flour pizza recipe without yeast in a kadai (no oven pizza recipe) with step by step pictures.
Wheat flour pizza / Atta pizza recipe
Wheat flour pizza without yeast and oven - Atta pizza recipe in a kadai without yeast.
Toppings - as per your choice (I used onion, tomato only)
Butter - 1 tbsp (to apply on sides of crust)
Pizza Herbs – Before serving to garnish
HOW TO MAKE WHEAT FLOUR PIZZA WITHOUT YEAST, OVEN
Wash and slice onion, tomato, olives and capsicum for toppings.
In a wide bowl, mix atta/wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar.
Add required curd gradually and make a smooth, slightly sticky dough. Do not use water or milk.
Add little oil and knead the dough to become non sticky.
Divide the pizza dough into 2 parts. Take a butter greased round plate. Spread the dough.
Press and make a dent around the corner. Prick with fork. Spread pizza sauce / pasta sauce, red chilli sauce all over the pizza.
Arrange the toppings like onion, tomato, capsicum, olives and sweet corn or paneer pieces.
Cover with grated cheese. Apply butter around the corners for easy removal.
Take an old kadai and spread 1 inch powdered salt. Preheat in high flame for 5 minutes.
Now lower the flame completely and place a small bowl inside the kadai.
Place the pizza plate and cover cook in low flame for 10 to 15 minutes.
Remove the pizza to a plate and serve hot. Enjoy !
WHEAT FLOUR PIZZA - STEP BY STEP PICTURES
Wash and slice onion, tomato, paneer cubes, olives and capsicum if using for toppings.
In a wide bowl, mix wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Mix well. Make a dent and add curd gradually.
Make a slightly sticky dough. Do not use water to make the dough. Use curd only. Add some oil and knead the dough for 5 to 8 minutes till it become non-sticky.
Divide the dough into 2 portions. Take one ball and spread the dough in a butter greased plate. Make a round shape. Prick with a fork. Mix pizza sauce / tomato sauce and chilli sauce.
Spread the sauce. Stud in and arrange the toppings. Cover with grated cheese. Apply butter generously all over the sides to remove the pizza easily after cooking.
Take an old kadai. Spread powdered salt for 1 inch. Heat the kadai in high flame for 5 minutes till salt is heated. Keep an eye such that salt should not get burnt.
Now place a small bowl and invert over the kadai. Place the pizza plate and cover the kadai. Keep the flame completely low. Cover cook for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove once the corners turn golden brown with a nice smell. Remove the plate from the kadai.
Gently slide the pizza to a serving plate using a knife or flat ladle. Sprinkle oregano or pizza seasoning on top. Slice and serve hot. Enjoy !
Enjoy !
Note
Do not skip baking powder and baking soda.
Use curd to make the dough.
Do not make the dough too sticky. We must knead adding oil to make a smooth, non sticky dough.
Toppings can be our choice. You can use baby corn, paneer cubes, olives, jalapeno and sweet corn.
You can also try sprinkling tandoori masala powder for additional flavor and taste.
Try this yummy wheat flour pizza recipe without yeast. Enjoy !
Recently I tasted boiled peanut chaat as a starter in a lunch buffet. We loved it very much. So I tried at home when my neighbor gave me a bag full of raw groundnuts from her own farm. As the groundnuts were fresh, I pressure cooked it and made this chaat. You can also use roasted peanuts instead. It gives an additional crunchy taste. Raksha loved it very much. I am sure your kids will love it too. You can make it for their snacks box, after school evening snacks or for birthday party too. Its a quick and simple recipe. All you have to do is just chop the vegetables, mix boiled or roasted peanuts and serve ! Lets see how to make this easy, yummy peanut chaat recipe with step by step pictures and video.
Video: Boiled Peanut Chaat Recipe
Easy, kids friendly peanut chaat recipe
Boiled peanut chaat recipe
Boiled peanut chaat recipe with cooked peanuts, onion, carrot, tomato and spice powders
Wash and soak raw peanuts in water for 30 minutes.
Pressure cook peanuts in enough water and salt in very low flame for one whistle.
Remove and drain the excess water.
Take the boiled peanuts in a bowl. Add onion, tomato, carrot and coriander leaves.
Mix chaat masala, spice powders, salt and sugar. Sprinkle lemon juice and mix well.
Lastly garnish with sev / omapodi and serve immediately for best taste !
BOILED PEANUT CHAAT - STEP BY STEP PICTURES
Wash and chop onion, tomato, coriander leaves finely. Wash and peel the carrot skin. Grate it and set aside.
Wash and soak the raw peanuts in water for one hour. Pressure cook it adding sufficient water and required salt. Cook in low flame for one whistle.
Remove after the steam is released. Drain the excess water. Set aside.
In a wide bowl, take the boiled peanuts, finely chopped onion, tomato, coriander leaves and grated carrot. Add salt, chilli powder, chaat masala, cumin powder, salt and sugar. You can also add a pinch of black salt if you like.
Lastly add lemon juice and mix well. Garnish with sev / omapodi and serve immediately for best taste.
Enjoy !
Note
Adjust the quantity of chilli powder and chaat masala as per your taste.
You can use roasted peanuts with skin instead of boiled peanuts.
Lemon juice is optional but it adds a nice taste.
For variations, you can add pomegranate, grated coconut and boiled sweet corn kernels.
Easy, yummy boiled peanut chaat is ready to enjoy ! Just dig in !!
Besan murukku / Kadalai maavu murukku recipe was in my try list since Gokulashtami/ Krishna jayanthi. So I tried this murukku as my first Diwali snacks recipe. I always have a love towards mini murukku/ small murukku since childhood. We call it as chinna murukku or kutty murukku in Tamil. When I was young, we used to buy mini kai murukku from a nearby snacks shop. Iam not so good in shaping mini kai murukku. So I tried this besan murukku in small size using star mould just like Udupi brand murukku. Basically my daughter Raksha doesn’t like big sized mullu murukku as it pricks the jaws while eating. When I made this mullu murukku in small size, she had it happily without any complaints.
This bite sized murukku is so easy to eat and also appealing to our eyes. She took few for her school snacks box today to share with her friends. This shows the hit of this small besan murukku right??😊. One more thing I would like to share. This murukku doesn't have a melt in mouth texture. It's slightly hard to bite hard but definitely crunchy. Friends, do try this mini murukku for your kids and family during this Diwali and let me know how they liked it. Lets see how to make besan flour murukku / kadalai maavu murukku with step by step pictures.
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp (Adjust based on your taste)
Ajwain / Omam - 1/2 tsp
Black sesame seeds - 1/2 tsp
Hing / Asafetida - 1/4 tsp
Salt & water - as needed
Cooking oil – to deep fry murukku
HOW TO MAKE BESAN MURUKKU
In a bowl sieve and mix besan flour, rice flour.
Add ajwain, red chilli powder, sesame seeds, hing, butter, hot oil and salt.
Mix well. Then add water gradually and make a smooth, pliable, slightly sticky dough.
In the murukku press, keep the star mould and fill the dough.
Heat oil and check the temperature. Press the small murukku in a sheet.
Drop in hot oil and fry both the sides till bubbles cease. Remove in a tissue paper.
Store in a box after murukku comes to room temperature. Stays good for 15 days. Enjoy !
BESAN FLOUR MURUKKU - STEP BY STEP PICTURES
In a wide bowl, place a sieve. Add rice flour and besan flour to it. Sieve them well.
Add salt, hing, ajwain, sesame seeds, red chilli powder , hot oil and butter. Mix well without water to spread the butter evenly with the flour.
Now add water gradually and make a smooth, pliable dough. Dough can be slightly sticky. If you add less water, murukku gets cut while pressing. So add right amount of water. Cover the dough with a plate till use. Do not dry the dough.
Take the murukku press and place the star mould or round mould with a single hole. Fill the murukku dough. In a butter paper or polythene sheet, press the murukku. Make small sized murukku with one rotation as I did.
Heat oil in a kadai. Drop a pinch of dough and see if it comes to top immediately without changing in color. It indicates correct oil temperature.
Now drop kutty murukku one by one in oil. Beginners, slide the murukku in the corner of kadai to avoid splashing of oil. Cook 10 to 15 in one batch based on the quantity of oil. Cook in medium flame. Toss in regular intervals and cook both the sides till bubbles cease. Do not burn it. Cook patiently in correct flame. Remove & drain the oil in a tissue paper.
Store the murukku in a box after it cools down. Stays good for 15 days, enjoy !
Note
Adjust the quantity of red chilli powder as per your taste. Color of murukku depends on chilli powder. Skip if you don’t like to use it.
Do not over fry, it turns black. Cook in medium flame by tossing in regular intervals.
7 Taste Uthappam / 5 Taste Uthappam Recipe – Many of you would have tasted this dosa variety in restaurants like Saravana bhavan and many restaurants in Tamil nadu.
Basically uthappam is a soft, spongy dosa that looks round and small in size. You can make it with freshly ground fermented idli, dosa batter or with leftover idli batter. Both tastes great. Onion uthappam is the most common oothappam variety. But this 5 taste / 7 taste uthappam with 7 different toppings makes this simple dish much more interesting.
Though I haven’t tasted this recipe in Chennai Saravana bhavan, I have tasted it in Salem Saravana bhavan – asai dosai and Sree Saravana bhavan restaurant in Krishnagiri. But both the restaurants served 5 taste uthappam with masala toppings like mushroom masala, paneer masala, Gobi masala, grated carrot and small onion. It was so filling that I wasn’t able to eat 3 uthappam.
But the recipe I have shared here is very simple with light toppings. It won’t make you feel full at the same time its so appealing to eyes. Kids would love it for sure. Even we adults would be craving to eat it by seeing their colors.
I have made this uthappam with the mini uthappam pan which I bought recently. I purchased it mainly for this recipe and to make pancakes for Raksha. If you are interested to buy this mini uthappam / pancake pan, please check THIS LINK in Amazon. There are many brands available in it. If you don’t want this pan, you can make in dosa tawa itself. You can make 3 to 4 per batch based on the size of your dosa tawa.
I have used onion, carrot, capsicum, coriander leaves, tomato + crushed pepper, Idli podi / Gun powder, dry fruits and nuts toppings. You can skip any two and make 5 taste uthappam. For variations, you can use paneer bhurji, grated cheese, chocolate chips even finely cut apple for different and interesting toppings.
Friends, do try this easy and colorful 7 taste uthappam recipe and share your feedback with me !
7 taste uthappam / 5 taste uthappam recipe
How to make easy and colorful 7 taste uthappam with idli dosa batter.
Cooking oil / Sesame oil /Ghee - to drizzle over dosa
HOW TO MAKE 7 TASTE UTHAPPAM RECIPE
Wash and chop all the vegetables finely. Grate carrot.
Take idli dosa batter and add little water if batter is too thick.
Heat a dosa pan or uthappam pan. Pour small ladleful of batter. Do not spread it.
Sprinkle the topping over each dosa. Drizzle oil around the dosa.
Cook in medium flame. Flip and cook the other side till toppings become golden in color.
Remove and serve hot with chutney or sambar !
7 TASTE UTHAPPAM - STEP BY STEP PICTURES
To make 7 taste or 5 taste uthappam, prepare the toppings by finely chopping onion, capsicum, cashew nuts, tomato, coriander leaves. Grate carrot and keep aside.
Take 1 to 2 cups of idli dosa batter. You can use leftover idli dosa batter or with fresh fermented idli batter. If the batter is too thick add little water and bring to pouring consistency. Remember batter should not be too thin and watery.
Heat a dosa tawa or mini uthappam pan (If you have it). Pour small ladles of batter in each hole. In dosa tawa, make 3 to 4 small sized thick dosa. Do not spread the batter.
Place the toppings over each dosa. Put chopped small onion in one, tomato and sprinkle some pepper powder in the second, capsicum in third, grated carrot, chopped coriander leaves, dry fruits and nuts in the remaining uthappam. Lastly sprinkle idli podi over the 7th uthappam. Drizzle oil or ghee (for kids) around each dosa. Cook in medium flame and flip the dosa.
Cook the toppings side patiently till each of them is cooked well and turns slight golden brown in color. You can remove carrot and coriander uthappam earlier than onion uthappam.
Remove in a plate and serve hot with chutney and sambar !
Enjoy !
Note
For variations you can use grated cheese, grated paneer, chocolate chips and favorite fruits.
To make 5 taste uthappam, skip any two toppings and make the remaining.
Adding ghee gives the best taste. But you can use cooking oil or sesame oil for low calorie version.
Coconut chutney or sambar is the best side dish for these uthappam.
Colorful, tasty 7 taste uthappam is ready ! Enjoy !
Here is an easy and quick chocolate sandwich recipe using Hershey’s chocolate syrup and butter. Usually chocolate sandwich is prepared by using cooking chocolate. But this is a quick and simple recipe I tried after tasting it in a popular Sandwich outlet named Hari super sandwich in Jayanagar, Bangalore. I watched him making this sandwich in a super quick method and took a video as well. Long back I shared the video in my Instagram page. After that I too started making chocolate sandwich very often in a slightly modified method for Raksha’s snack box and for our weekend breakfast. It has become our family favorite. It tastes so close to Hari's. Recently I noticed that I haven’t shared this simple recipe with you all. So I wanted to post this easy chocolate sandwich recipe today😊. You can use any chocolate syrup or chocolate spread in this recipe. You can use Nutella as well. I made this sandwich in a dosa tawa by toasting the bread greased with butter. You can also grill it and make grilled chocolate sandwich. It looks even more attractive. For variations, you can make this sandwich without fire, add grated cheese, garnish with chopped nuts, spirnklers etc. Make your own variations and enjoy. Friends, do try this super yummy chocolate sandwich recipe for your kids snacks or breakfast. It tastes great when served hot. Your kids would love it for sure and ask for more. Even your husband will love it😃. Do try it and share your feedback with me !
Take 2 bread slices. Apply bread on one side of the bread.
Heat a dosa tawa. Lower the flame and toast the buttered side.
While the bread gets toasted in low flame, apply chocolate syrup on one slice.
Spread butter in the other slice. Do this job quickly. Cover it and remove in a plate.
Drizzle some chocolate syrup over the sandwich and serve hot !
CHOCOLATE SANDWICH RECIPE - STEP BY STEP PICTURES
Take 2 bread slices in a plate. Apply soft butter on one side of both bread.
Heat a dosa tawa. Lower the flame completely. Keep the buttered side on the tawa. Toast in low flame.
Immediately start to apply chocolate syrup on one of the bread slices. Apply butter in the other slice.
As soon as the bottom is toasted, cover the sandwich by placing buttered side over the chocolate side. Do this process quickly else bread will burn at the bottom. Bread becomes soft as it toasts. Remove it and enjoy hot. I cut into 6 small pieces just like the way it was served in Hari Sandwich center. Its easy to eat and looks cute as well !
Drizzle more chocolate syrup if you like. Enjoy hot for best taste !
Note
For variations, you can apply chocolate spread instead of syrup.
Remember you should keep the flame very low while spreading the chocolate and butter. Do it quickly else bread will burn at the bottom.
You can sprinkle some cheese gratings to make cheese chocolate sandwich recipe.
You can also grill the sandwich in a toaster instead of dosa tawa.
Use fresh milk bread for best taste.
Try this yummy, kids friendly sandwich recipe and enjoy !
Vazhaipoo cutlet is an interesting deep fried snack prepared using vazhaipoo (banana flower in English) and cooked potato as the base ingredients. Recently I got a big banana flower from Salem. As usual I prepared Vazhaipoo usili and vazhaipoo dosa. Still I had a cup of leftover banana flower. So I tried this Vazhaipoo cutlet recipe for the first time. It came out so well with a soft interior and crispy exterior. No one could find out this cutlet is prepared with vazhaipoo. Even kids would love it. In this recipe, I have ground the cooked banana flower to a paste and added it with mashed, boiled potato. So the taste of vazhaipoo won’t be dominant. Anyone would love to eat it. Raksha relished it with tomato ketchup. Friends, do try this vazhaipoo cutlet recipe for a change and enjoy. Ok, here you see banana flower cutlet recipe with step by step pictures.
Red chilli powder - 1/2 to 1 tsp (adjust based on taste)
Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Maida / all purpose flour OR rice flour - 2 tbsp (for binding)
Coriander leaves - finely chopped (to garnish)
Salt & water - as needed
Corn flour - 2 tbsp
Water - to make paste.
Bread crumbs - to coat the cutlet
Cooking oil – to shallow fry cutlets
HOW TO MAKE VAZHAIPOO CUTLET
Wash and clean vazhaipoo. Cook in required water till soft.
Drain the water and grind to smooth paste adding little water.
Cook and peel the skin of potato. Mash it well.
Heat oil in a kadai. Add crushed fennel seeds, chopped big onion and saute well.
Add ginger garlic paste and saute till raw smell goes off. Then add ground vazhaipoo paste.
Saute till water content is removed. Then add mashed potato, red chilli powder, salt and garam masala powder.
Mix well and cook till it becomes a whole mass.
If the mixture is too wet and watery, add maida for binding. Garnish with coriander leaves.
Remove and let it cool. Make a thick paste of corn flour for dipping the cutlet.
Make round or heart shaped cutlet. Dip the cutlet in corn flour paste.
Coat in bread crumbs. Shallow fry both the sides in a kadai. Drain in a tissue paper.
Serve with tomato ketchup.
METHOD - STEP BY STEP PICTURES
Pressure cook potato in required water. Peel the skin, mash well and set aside. Wash and clean the vazhaipoo florets by removing the black stamen (kalan). Chop roughly and cook in required water till soft. Drain the water and set aside. To make homemade bread crumbs, just grind the corners (brown part) of bread to a fine powder. Keep in a plate.
Grind the cooked vazhaipoo to a smooth paste adding little water (For variations, you can skip cooking and grind it raw). Heat oil in a kadai. Add crushed fennel seeds. Add finely chopped onion and saute till transparent.
Add ginger garlic paste and saute till raw smell disappears. Add the ground vazhaipoo paste. Saute till its water content is absorbed.
Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, garam masala powder, salt and mashed potato. Mix well in low flame.
Keep mixing till everything comes together like a dough. If there is wetness in the mixture, add some maida or rice flour to make a dough. Lastly add coriander leaves, mix well. Switch off the flame and let it cool down.
In the mean time take corn flour in a bowl. Add some water and make a thick paste. Take bread crumbs in a plate.
Now take the cooled cutlet mixture. Make round or heart shapes as you like. Dip one cutlet in corn flour paste. Immediately coat in bread crumbs. Arrange in a plate. Follow the same for remaining cutlets too.
Heat oil in a kadai to shallow fry the cutlets. Arrange 4 to 5 cutlets per batch. Cook in low flame till golden brown on one side. Flip the cutlet and cook the other side too. Remove in a tissue paper to drain the excess oil. Serve warm with tomato ketchup.Enjoy !
Note
Adjust the quantity of chilli powder as per the taste.
For variations, you can also add mashed vegetables along with potato.
Addition of maida or rice flour helps for binding cutlet dough.
You can dip in corn flour paste and bread crumbs twice to make super crispy exterior.
If you are conscious about oil, you can just cook the cutlet in a dosa pan with little oil.
Try this interesting, healthy vazhaipoo cutlet recipe and enjoy !
