Newspaper- Best Glass Cleaner?

Get a bang for your buck with this unusual newspaper use.

Newspapers are an effective way to wipe glass windows or car windscreens.

It’s true! The 5 rupees daily can double as a glass cleaner. 

The science- Newspapers are made of dense fibers that contain no solid, scratching materials like silica or calcium carbonate. Compared to paper towels, newspaper fibers are more rigid and will not separate and cause lint. Hence, no streaking.

Fried Papad- Not!!

I always wondered how they roast papads in the restaurants without charring the sides. I experimented and found a way. Moreover, the papad tastes like oil fried, but it’s roasted. This technique will also help you to make shapes like cones, rolls etc.

So for this you will need:

• A tawa
• Few drops of oil(optional)
• Papads
• Few tall tumbler to place rolled papads.

Heat the skillet on heat, once hot place the papad on it and press using a clean, thick kitchen towel as shown in the picture. Add oil (optional). Flip and fry on the other side. Voilà! You have a rosted papad which tastes like a fried one!

To make rolls just roll the papad when hot and place in a tall tumbler to hold shape. Once cool it will retain the shape.

To make cones cut the papad into half as shown in the picture fry and roll into a cone. 

If you have a small papad unlike the one in the picture. You could still make cones. Just cut the papad from one side (as shown in last picture) till the centre and fry and roll into a cone.

Roasted Red Bell Pepper Chutney

A wonderful combination of tangy taste and crunchy texture, sweet bell peppers are the ornaments of the vegetable world with their beautifully shaped glossy exterior that comes in a wide array of vivid colors. Roasting these peppers enhances the flavor.

I came across this recipe ‘Roasted Red Bell Pepper Chutney’ in the newspaper the other day. I tried it and I really loved it, so sharing this recipe here. This recipe has multiple uses:

·        Serve with roti, rice, dosa or idlis.

·        Use as a secret spread for a cheese sandwich.

·        Serve as a dip for nachos or fries.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 10 miuntes

Serves: 4-5 people

Recipe Courtesy: Susheela Srinivas

Ingredients	Quantity
Red Bell Pepper	1 large
Green Chilies	1 or 2
Red Chilies(Kashmiri)	1 or 2
Sesame Seeds	1 tsp
Turmeric powder	1/4 tsp
Cumin (Jeera) powder	1/2 tsp
Lemon juice	1 tsp
Oil	1 ½ tsp
Tamarind Paste	1tsp
Coriander springs	5-10
Salt	to taste
Water	to grind
For Tempering:
Oil	1 ½ tbsp
Mustard seeds	¼ tsp
Split Bengal gram(Chana Dal)	¼ tsp
Curry leaves	few

Method:

Wash Bell pepper thoroughly, wipe dry and cut into cubes without seeds.

Dry roast sesame seeds in a pan till they are slightly golden. Remove and keep aside.

Heat ½ tsp oil in the pan and fry the green chilies and red chilies for 2-3 minutes. 

Remove and keep aside to cool.

Heat 1 tsp oil in the same pan and fry the bell pepper for 3-4 minutes. Keep aside till it cools down.

In a blender jar add sesame seeds, coriander leaves, tamarind paste, salt, turmeric powder, chilies, cumin powder and 2 tbsp water, grind to a fine paste.

Now add bell peppers and grind coarsely. You can peel the bell peppers if you like. Add water if needed. This chutney tastes good when it is chunky.

Remove in a bowl.

Tempering:

In a small wok heat oil, add mustard seeds and split bengal gram (chana dal) when mustard starts spluttering add curry leaves and switch of the heat. Once the spluttering stops, add the tempering to chutney.

Points to remember:

• Instead of frying the bell pepper in the pan with oil you can also roast the whole pepper directly on the gas. Apply some oil to the surface of pepper prick a few times with a fork and roast them on the gas till you see blisters on the peels. Once cooled peels and grind.
• Place pepper halves, cut sides down, on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake in a 220°C pre-heated oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Let stand about 15 minutes or until cool. Use a sharp knife to loosen edges of the skins; gently pull off the skins in strips and discard.

Modak (Fried)

                             

Modaks have a special importance in the worship of the Hindu god Ganesh; modak is believed to be his favorite food, which begets him the moniker modakapriya (the one who likes modak) in Sanskrit.

A modak is a sweet dumpling popular in western, eastern and Southern India. It is called modak in Marathi, Oriya and Konkani as well as Gujarati language, Sughiyan in Malayalam, modhaka or kadubu in Kannada, modhaka or kozhakkattai in Tamil, and kudumu in Telugu.

The sweet filling inside a modak is made up of fresh grated coconut and jaggery/sugar, while the soft shell is made from rice flour, or wheat flour mixed with khava or maida flour. The dumpling can be fried or steamed.

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Makes: 12

Recipe Courtesy- Ruchkar Mejwani

Ingredients	Quantity
Grated Coconut	1 cup
Sugar	½ cup
Cream	2 tbsp
Chopped Dry fruits	2 tbsp (optional)
Cardamom powder	1 pinch
Maida/All-purpose flour	1 cup
Wheat flour	¾ cup
Ghee	2 tbsp
Salt	to taste
Water	to mix the dough
Oil	to fry modak

Method

For Filling

Take a pan, add the grated coconut, sugar & cream. Mix well and let the cream melt.

Add dry fruits, cardamom powder and again mix well. Keep cooking till the mixture becomes slightly dry and most of the water from cream has evaporated.

In the meanwhile, take a small pan, add ghee and let it come to a boil.

For Covering

In a bowl, add wheat flour, maida & salt. Add the hot ghee to the mixture and stir with a spoon.

Add water to the flour mixture & make a soft dough.

Meanwhile, take a frying pan and add oil for heating.

Take small portions of the dough and start rolling into soft small rotis. Fill each roti with the coconut mixture. Pinch the edges of the roti, bring it together & seal properly so that no oil goes in while frying. Similarly make all the modaks.

Fry the modaks till golden brown.

Points to remember:

·        You can make the filling in advance if you like and store in the fridge. But bring to room temperature before you make modak.

·        Fry the modak in a medium low flame.

Chopping nuts made easy!!

Do you always struggle with chopping nuts? I have a perfect trick for you!

Slightly roast the nuts in a dry pan and when they warm chop them to the size you need. Voilà!

You can dry roast them or add some oil/ghee depending on how you want them.

This trick has two benefits it is easy to chop them and roasting intensify their flavor. 

Burnt tongue?? Here’s a quick remedy!

Everybody has done it at some point - taken a sip of piping hot coffee, or took a sip of hot soup, resulting in a nasty burnt tongue. Luckily, we have a quick remedy. Sprinkle a pinch of white sugar onto the burnt area and let it dissolve. Let it sit in the mouth for at least a minute for the pain to go away. Any pain should quickly subside.

Sugar can cure burnt tongue

 This also works on the roof of your mouth, but you will need to use your tongue to hold the sugar in place while it dissolves, and you may need to repeat the process since some of the sugar will be dissolving into your tongue instead of the roof of your mouth.

Kalakand

Kalakand is a popular Indian sweet made out of solidified, sweetened milk and cottage cheese. This is a moderately sweet dessert and you can't stop at just one piece.

The dish originated in Alwar, Rajasthan, India. Kalakand is made in Indian during different festivals and celebrations such as Holi, Diwali, Navratri and Eid.

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Serves: 4-5 people

Recipe Courtesy: Smt Somayajula Gayatri Devi Sharma

Ingredients	Quantity
Sweetened Condensed Milk	200gms
Paneer	250gms
Milk Powder	10gms (1 heaped tbsp)
Cardamom Powder	1 tsp(optional)
Pistachios/ Cashewnuts	for garnish
Ghee	1 tbsp

Method

Take a square cake tin and brush all the sides and bottom with ghee. Line with butter paper and brush ghee on it.

Crumble paneer or grate. Take care to retain the grainy texture of the paneer.

Add hot water to pistachios/cashewnuts and soak them for few minutes. Peel the pistachios/cashewnuts and chop them to small pieces.

Take a thick bottomed pan and heat it. Add grated paneer, milk powder and sweetened condensed milk. Mix well and lower the heat to low flame. Keep stirring otherwise the mixture will burn. After few minutes the mixture starts thickening. Cook for few minutes and then add the cardamom powder and mix well. Don’t let the mixture dry completely.

Once the condensed milk is almost dry transfer the mixture to the prepared cake tin and spread evenly with a flat spoon. Dip a spoon in water and use the back of the spoon to smoothen the surface.

Cool the kalakand for a while and cut into desired shapes. Then separate the pieces and arrange them in a plate. Garnish the kalakand pieces with chopped pistachios/cashewnuts and serve.

To make kalakand in different shapes use cookie cutters. Make a ball of kalakand and flatten it on a plate. Then press the cookie cutter and remove the excess portions and lift the cookie cutter gently.

Points to remember

• Using sweetened condensed milk making this dish very easy. If we have to make it traditionally, milk has to be boiled and then reduced. Sweetened condensed milk is a better option to save time.
• Remember to retain the grainy texture of paneer.
• Use a thick bottomed pan so that the condensed milk does not burn. And also keep stirring the mixture while cooking so that the mixture does not burn. As there is very little moisture in condensed milk and paneer the mixture needs attention while cooking.
•  Cut and decorate as per your choice.