Best of year 2016

I stubled upon this event by chance while looking for events I could participate in ..
http://www.cooking4allseasons.in/2016/12/announcing-the-best-of-year-2016-event.html

As the post says, we can choose anything or all from -
1. Top 5 or 10 recipes of the year
2. Best dish of the month
3. Best recipe prepared from other blogs
4. Best Meal of the year
5 New things discovered in the year (can include anything related to cooking)
6. Best post or picture for each month or year
7. New blogs discovered
8. Cooking resolutions for the Year 2017!

I would like to share some of these -

2. Best dish of the month is definitely Kiwi Marmalade !
https://ambrotos.blogspot.com/2016/12/kiwi-marmalade-in-instant-pot.html

3. Best recipe prepared from other blogs is Smashed Potatoes
https://ambrotos.blogspot.com/2016/11/smashed-potatoes.html

5 New things discovered in the year (can include anything related to cooking)
This is definitely the Instant pot !!It made life so easy. I even use it sometimes to make tea :-)

https://www.amazon.com/Instant-Pot-IP-DUO60-Multi-Functional-Pressure/dp/B00FLYWNYQ

Sugar pumpkin halwa

Ingredients -
sugar pumpkins 🎃
ghee
sugar

Recipe-
I steamed the whole pumpkin in the instant pot and then cut in half. I removed the seeds and saved some to plant at Bhaiya's home. I then removed the pulp and pulsed on high for a minute in the food processor.

Add ghee, once heated, add the pumpkin pulp and let it cook for a few minutes. Keep stirring in between. Sugar pumpkin has its own natural sweetness so when you add sugar now, keep that in mind ! Stir for sometime after adding sugar and let the halwa thicken. That's it - halwa is ready !

Kiwi marmalade In the instant pot!

We got kiwis in bulk from Costco and they turned out sour 😡 We tried keeping them on the counter for about a week with no change. Then it was time to turn them to a pulp. 

On the left is a pic of the rose mithai that Niket got from his colleague from Iran. I had never tasted these earlier and they were awesome !

Ingredients - 

Kiwis- about 10

Sugar - 1.5 times quantity of kiwi pulp

 

Recipe-  

Chop the kiwis. Most recipes I checked called for peeling which I was too lazy to do. I first steamed them in the instant pot. I added some water to the chopped kiwis and steamed for 3 minutes, Natural release. 

Once the pressure was released, I added the sugar , stirring until disolved. I let this mix be on saute for a while- maybe about 15-20 mins. It turned a dark brown as the sugar caramelised. Switch off and let it cool before keeping in jars. We finished this in about 10 days.

 

Ghee in the instant pot - made from butter

This was so easy ! Here's my recipe - 

Store bought butter - I used 24 ounces

Recipe-

Turn on instant pot in Saute mode. Add the butter, let it melt and come to aboil. Turn on slow cook mode and set it for 1.5 hours. Once this is done, saute for 10-15 mins. I think I did this longer and my result was a dark brown. Nevertheless it was tasty !

Allow it to cool. Filter through sieve into bottle. This was my yield. I used salted butter hence the filtered brown stuff cannot be eaten directly. I am going to add it to dals and other dishes!

 

 

Grapefruit marmalade- pressure cooker and super quick !

Grapefruit marmalade made in the instant pot :-)

Ingredients -
1 large grapefruit sliced and bigger seeds removed
1 cup water or minimum that's needed for the cooker to come to pressure
double the amount of sugar
(if the grapefruit is 1 cup, you need 2 cups sugar) I used 4

Method-
place the slices and water in pressure cooker. Steam for 10 mins. I used steam function on my instant pot. Let it NR naturally release pressure. Open and give it a good mix. Also savor in your house smelling so good with that citrusy flavor 😀

Add double the quantity of sugar. Check taste. Keep in sauté mode for about 10 minutes and do not allow to stick to bottom. Since I didn't remove the pith mine was slightly bitter but still yummy !

There is another way to do this and I couldn't do that beCause my grapefruit was halved already -

if you are using a whole grapefruit, steam it whole in the pressure cooker and discard the water. This will remove the bitterness but will take time to thicken. You can also peel and remove the white pith for sweeter taste. 

Also check orange marmalade recipe here - 

http://ambrotos.blogspot.com/2016/11/orange-marmalade-in-instant-pot.html

Bihari Rasiya

I made this today for dinner. It's Friday night after all ! And I realised this was not on my blog.

Here's the recipe -

Rice - 1 cup
Gur / jaggery  / Brown sugar– 1 cup
Water - 2 cups (I eyeballed this)
cardamom – 1 crushed pod
Ghee 1 tsp

Recipe-

Take jaggery and water and let it boil. Then strain jaggery water and set aside. This is done to remove impurities from jaggery. I don't think this step is needed now. I used brown sugar and did not do this. 

I turned on the Instant pot in Saute mode , added the ghee and cardamom and let it sizzle. I did not use any nuts. If using some, you may want to fry them now before adding the rice and water. 

Add rice and water and brown sugar and keep on saute till it starts bubbling. Keep on 1.5 hours slow cook. Check the sweetness and consistency.Ready to served your highness !

Cooking from my blog recipes

 

Sattu paratha- http://ambrotos.blogspot.com/2011/02/sattu-paratha-makuni-or-litti-bihari.html

Tomato Chutney- http://saltiepie.blogspot.com/2011/03/tamatar-khajoor-ki-chutneytomato-date.html

Dahi Aloo aur Papad ki sabzi - http://ambrotos.blogspot.com/2011/10/dahi-aur-papad-ki-sabzi.html

 

Smashed potatoes

 

I made these following the Pioneer Woman's recipe - 

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/crash-hot-potatoes/

I used Russet potatoes and I topped them with a mix of Cheddar (Amul cheese) and Goat cheese. My brother got the goat cheese from Oregon when he went there for the Shakespeare Fest. And Amul- well because it was Diwali and the Indian store here was running an offer on it :-)

 

Pressure cooker Chinese Simmered Chicken

I made this some days back and it was finger-licking good !
The recipe is from This Old Gal blog site who also uses instant pot ❤️
http://thisoldgal.com/pressure-cooker-chinese-simmered-chicken/

I made some changes to the recipe based on ingredients I had at hand-
1- I used applesauce
2-I used onion tomato paste with Garam masala
3- I used teriyaki sauce

My sauce ingredients are as follows-

1/2 cup applesauce

1/4 cup water

1 cup onion tomato masala paste with garam masala

I followed the same process as the recipe called for. 

 

Bihar style chura bhunja

Chura bhunja or chivda recipe -

Ingredients:

1 cup Chura
1 spoon oil
1/2 cup groundnuts
Salt to taste
add fried red or green chilies, fried papad etc to taste

Method :

Heat oil in a deep pan or kadahi.
When sufficiently hot, add groundnuts, sauté for a couple of minutes and remove.
Reduce the flame and add chura . Sauté for a couple of minutes till they look crunchy.
Remove from stove, add the salt and groundnuts or any other additions as per taste.
It makes a great snack with evening chai and can even serve as chakhna 😀👍

Orange marmalade in instant pot

Using April Bloomfield's recipe from her book - The girl and her pig

Ingredients
8 medium size oranges
4 cups sugar (recipe calls for 5)
2 tsp fennel

Instructions
Wash oranges, in steel insert cover them with water, keep a heavy plate on top so that oranges don't bob up ! Steam for 8 mins, NR. Open lid and let cool.

Remove from water, reserve 2 cups of this water and discard rest. Slice oranges and check rind for bitternesss. The oranges I used did not have any bitterness or seeds inside. So I just mashed them up, added sugar, reserved water, fennel and kept on sauté for 30 mins.

If the rind is bitter then you would need to remove the white pith and also the seeds after slicing the oranges. If the quantity is less you may also use less sugar. Sugar only helps thicken quicker.

The marmalade thickened slightly at this point. Then I kept it on slow cook mode with lid partially open for steam to escape. You could also remove the lid and keep it on slow cook mode for 1.5 to 2 hours.

Once thickened, remove from heat and let cool. Transfer to clean jars and store in the fridge. Will keep for a couple of weeks. My recipe made 4 small jars.

Brownie cake

I baked a brownie cake for my daughter's 6th birthday. I cheated.. I used the brownie mix! And I frosted it 😀👍
tasted divine. Can you ever have an overdose of chocolate ? 😀😀
This is the brownie cake recipe -
http://www.lifewithgremlins.com/brownie-mix-cake-recipe-making-cake-from-brownie-mix/
And here is the frosting recipe -
http://www.crazyforcrust.com/2015/01/easy-double-fudge-brownies-amazing-frosting-ever/

Decorated with princess Sophia 😈

Shahi tukda in the instant pot

Ingredients -
crispy baked rusk - 1 whole pack
sugar - 1 cup
water -1.5 cups
ghee - 1/2 cup
crushed cardamom - 4 pods
cinnamon -1 tsp
condensed milk - sweetened - 1 can or unsweened -2 packs
use of the sweetened one makes it really sweet but yummy nonetheless
Nuts for garnish

Process -
Layer the sugar, ghee, spices and rusks in the steel insert of the instapot. Remember to grease the bottom with ghee!
Pour water on top sprinkling over the rusks so that it penetrates the rusk before reaching the bottom. Set the instapot on manual high for 7 mins, quick release of pressure once done.

Take out the rusks in your serving dish. I used one sweet and one plain condensed milk and I mixed them up before pouring over the rusks. I garnished with slivered toasted almonds.

This served 15 to 18 guests at the party.

Avial in the instant pot

Recipe:
Ingredients - all veggies chopped -
Carrots- 1 cup
beans -1 cup
potatoes -2cup
snow peas - 1 cup
coconut oil - 1 tbsp
Coconut milk -thick - 1/2 cup
sour curd- 1 cup
curry leaves
Cumin seeds powder

Sauté curry leaves in coconut oil in saute mode. Add beans, carrots, potatoes, peas.Sauté and poursome water(1/4 cup). Manual 5 mins. QR. Blend coconut milk and cumin powder. Add this to the veggies. Sauté well. Add salt and add buttermilk, mix well. Bring to a boil and switch off. Heat some coconut oil and pour on Avial. Cover instant pot and let it rest till serving.

Sabudana kheer in the instapot

Sabudana kheer in the instapot using PIP method
Ingredients -
1 cup sabudana
2.5 cups milk or as desired
water as needed
cardamom,cloves and bay leaf
raisins nuts and sugar as desired

Recipe-
Wash and Soak 1 cup of sabudana in water to just cover the sabudana for about 30 mins in the small pot.
Pour 2 cups water in the main pot. Keep the small pot on the trivet and inside the main pot.
Pour sabudana along with the water , same quantity milk or more as desired, cloves and cardamom and bay leaf in the small pot.
Cover this with a lid. Then put on the instapot lid and keep on steam mode for 10 mins. Let it release pressure naturally- it's called NR in instapot terminology.
Add sugar and dry fruits of your choice and serve warm or cold. I usually serve this with fried raisins and nuts.

Yogurt in the instant pot

using pip to boil milk for yogurt

I used a ball mason to boil milk for yogurt. I kept water in the main pot, kept the jar on trivet, poured milk, lightly covered the milk and set on steam function for 2 mins. NR.
I let the milk cool and added the starter. I set my yogurt in the oven with light on. Sets to perfection !

Easy kadhi in the instant pot using Pot in pot or PIP method

Easy kadhi in the instapot using Pot in pot or PIP method -
Ingredients -
1/2 cup besan
1 cup yogurt
Water as needed
Turmeric
Salt
Ginger
Garlic
Jaggery or sugar
Tadka- curry leaves , mustard seeds, asafetida
Recipe :
In blender add ginger garlic, yogurt, Besan, salt, jaggery and turmeric, blend.
Pour this in your pot. Add water to the main pot and keep the small pot on the trivet and keep in the main pot.
Keep in steam mode for 10 mins.
Before serving, make a tadka of oil or ghee with mustard seeds or cumin seeds and curry leaves. If you want a thicker kadhi can also add onion tomatoes.
If you have the patience add onion pakodas or boondi. We serve as a side dish to roti and sabzi.

Low cal gajar halwa

Warm gajar halwa is comfort food. But the ones you get outside are so loaded with ghee that even a spoonful of it is sinful. And you can never stop at one spoon if it is gajar halwa.

I am very fond of sweet (Would like to repeat what my friend Anirudh says about himself, I have a sweet jaw, not a sweet tooth!) and its tough to end any meal without a dessert.
Thought of trying gajar halwa when we got the red carrots here . This is easy to cook. With the milk powder, it is easier for this to thicken on gas. Else with mawa and milk it takes ages to cook!

Edit- The recipe is no longer low cal, and I used the traditional method of using khoya and milk and ghee. But the taste was so much better. It was unsupervised on slow cook mode and tasted really good !

Ingredients:
1/2kg red carrots, not orange ones make tastier gajar halwa
100gms sweetened milk powder
1 cup milk
jaggery or sugar to taste
raisins and cashews a handful
ghee 2 tbsp optional

Directions:

Wash and grate the carrots in the food processor. Pressure cook for one whistle,keep aside. 
Saute carrots in ghee in the instant pot. Add milk and khoya. Warm milk and add the milk powder so that no lumps are formed. Add to cooked carrots and simmer on gas. Slow Cook till mixture thickens and almost dries- about 5-6 hours. Add jaggery or sugar and cook till it thickens again.
Dry roast cashews and raisins or fry in ghee and add to halwa

Here's a pic of the old recipe and the new one-

Tortilla wraps

Ingredients-
Tortillas
Roasted veggies or meat - your choice
Your favorite cheese for topping

Method-
Divide the veggie or meat mixture between the tortillas and fold them. Prepare the oven safe dish with non stick spray, heat oven to 375, Keep filled tortillas in the dish and grate the cheese on top.
Place in the oven and  bake for 15 minutes until the cheese has becomes golden and bubbly and the edges of the tortillas are slightly darker.

Serve with Guacamole and sour cream !

Cabbage stew

Ingredients-
Chopped Cabbage
1 chopped potato
Chopped onion
Chopped tomatoes
Curry leaves and mustard for tempering
 Oil for cooking
Salt, turmeric and sabzi masala to taste
Thick coconut milk- 1/4 cup
 
Add oil to a deep pan and add mustard and curry leaves, allow mustard seeds to splutter. (I did not have any). Add onion, saute for 3 to 5 minutes, or until translucent. Add tomatoes and cook till oil separates. Stir in cabbage and potato, add salt and masalas and reduce heat to sim. Cover pan and cook over for30 mins. Once cabbage is cooked through, add the coconut milk and allow to come to a boil. Switch off stove and let it sit for sometime before serving. 

Whole Cauliflower in instant pot

Ingredients-
1 whole cauliflower leaves and stem removed
Olive oil
Salt

Some butter and cheese for topping

Method-

In the instant pot insert, keep 1.5 cups of water and place the cauliflower on the rack. Close the lid and keep on steam for 3 mins. QR once done. Check doneness with knife. It should be half done. I have done this on 2 occasions and still not mastered the doneness.



I used my cast iron wok to roast the cauliflower. Melt butter. Add salt and mix. Take out the trivet and keep the cauliflower in the wok. Pour the  salt and butter mix on the cauliflower. Also top with cheeses.
At this point depending on your doneness, you can broil the cauliflower- this is what I did. Or you can bake it. I broiled it for 10 mins. Serve cauliflower with salt and lemon wedges.

Baked salmon recipe

Salmon is tricky to cook. I have found that it tastes best baked with butter and herbs and served immediately with lemon !

I used the recipe from the Kitchn-
http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-baked-salmon-with-herbs-lemon-recipes-from-the-kitchn-53065

Muthia curry

I have recently stumbled upon recipes for muthia and muthiya curry. I felt my family would not like the dry muthia and thought of making it into a curry. I also thought this would be similar in taste to gatte ki sabzi but healthier- as it also has veggies like methi, lauki etc.

The curry was an instant hit with my family and they loved it. I plan to make this frequently as it was quite easy to make in the instant pot. I first steamed the muthias and cut them in smaller pieces and then went on with making the curry. I did not use much masalas, just a sprinkling of kitchen king masala was enough for us. 

Here are the links to recipes I followed- 

http://nishamadhulika.com/en/516-doodhi-muthia-recipe-lauki-nu-muthia-recipe.html

http://vegetariantastebuds.blogspot.com/2012/01/lauki-muthia-curry-bottle-gourd-steamed.html

Pear jam

We have decided to make our own jams with bulk fruits whenever possible. We pick a fruit available in Costco solely for this purpose. Sometime back, I made pear jam and wanted to share the recipe- 

Ingredients-
6 pears, cored and chopped
4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon ground clove

Method-
I steamed the pears with cloves for 5 mins in the Instant pot. Once the pressure released, I added sugar and  hit saute. I allowed the jam to thicken for sometime. It took about 30-40 mins before it was the consistency I needed. I felt the sugar was a bit less and just right for us. I did not can it. I stored in a steel jar in the fridge for upto 2 weeks.

Meatballs pasta in the Pressure cooker

Easy one pot meals which are healthy and nutritious are the best ! I made this in the instant pot and it was super easy and quick !

Ingredients-

1 small onion chopped

1 small tomato chopped

Veggies finely chopped- cabbage, carrots, lettuce, spinach

Frozen meatballs - i used handfuls 

Olive oil, salt and Italian herbs to taste

Method- 

Keep the instant pot in saute mode. Saute the onions, and once done, add the tomatoes. Once this is done and the raw smell is gone, add the veggies and meatballs and allow to cook. Once this is sauteed for a couple of minutes, add the pasta and water to just cover the pasta. Add salt, herbs and anything else you like in it, add set the instant pot in manual or steam mode for 2 mins. When the instant pot beeps, do a quick release else the pasta overcooks. Give everything a good stir. Add in cheese if you like ! It's ready to be served !

Broccoli and paneer parathas

I made these as I had tons of broccoli left from Costco!! I followed this recipe -

http://www.padhuskitchen.com/2015/11/broccoli-paratha-recipe-stuffed.html

They are tasty and healthy. I mixed in some paneer too.

Apple cake with crumb topping

Last week was definitely a lot of baking and this is another one from our kitchen- Apple cake with crumble topping !

I used the Betty Crocker recipe- 

http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/easy-apple-cake/5427daa2-21ac-4b09-bb6e-4c24437500ce

and I made the crumb topping with oil, sugar, oats and flour.  

PS- I used olive oil and half the sugar that the recipe calls for, as I had planned to use the crumb topping !

Apple jam- pressure cooker recipe

Ingredients :

4 Apples - Cleaned and processed in the food processor
else chopped. I did not peel.

1/2  cup water

2 cups sugar (I used brown)

Method:
In a pressure cooker, steam the chopped apples with water. I did this in the instant pot for 5 mins. Mash the apples .Turn on Saute function, add sugar and cook till the mixture thickens. If you want a smoother jam, you can blend the mixture before adding the sugar. I am going to try this in my next attempt.

I served the jam with everything I could!! - Parathas, chapatis, a spoonful or two as dessert - <3 br="">

Veggie poha revisited

Veggie poha revisited from my blog -

https://ambrotos.blogspot.com/2011/09/veggie-poha.html

Served with lemon juice and coconut chutney- yum !