Indian Style Pan Fried Pomfret

Pan fried Indian style pomfret is an easy to prepare dish which can can be served as side dish or even on it's own. Coated with aromatic Indian spices this succulent and juicy pomfret are ideal as a bachelor recepi as well. Minus the marination timing, this dish can be prepared in a jiffy without compromising on the taste.

I bought some fresh white pomfret for pan fry for our Sunday lunch. I cooked claypot fish curry and made this pomfret dish as a sides and everyone at home love it. The masala are not overpowering and the fish are soft and not dried out. Somehow, the ajwain or carom seeds gives that wonderful nutty flavour to the delicious fish. Serve with lemon wedges,cucumber slices and a sprinkle of chilly flakes for the extra kick.

Ingredients

1/2 kg pomfret, cleaned & scored

4-5 tbsp coconut oil

For The Marinade

1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp Kashmiri chilly powder

For The Masala

1 1/4 tbsp coriander powder

1 1/4 tbsp cumin powder

1 tbsp kashmiri red chilly powder

1 1/4 tsp garam masala

1 tsp turmeric powder

2 1/2 tbsp ginger garlic paste

1 tsp carom/ajwain seeds

1 tbsp fennel powder

2 tbsp Kasthuri methi,crushed

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp gram/besan flour

1 tbsp coconut oil

For Garnishing

Cucumber slices

Lemon wedges

Sprinkle of chilly flakes

Methods

In a bowl, add all the imgredients listed under "For The Marinate" and mix well. Rub the fish with the paste and marinate for 30 minutes.

In another bowl, add all the ingredientd listed under "For The Masala" and mix well. Rub in the masala to the marinated fish.

Heat a tawa with coconut oil and place the fish on the tawa and gently give a shake to prevent from the fish from sticking on the tawa.

Cook for 4-5 minutes and gently flip the fish to cook on the other side. Cook for another 4-5 minutes and transfer tp a serving plate.

Serve with lemon wedges,cucumber slices and a sprinkle of chilly flakes.

Punjabi Dum Aloo

This could easily be one of the hardest potato recepi i ever cooked with plenty of ingredients,dry roast,grinding & the dum process. I'll never take potato for granted. I was having Punjabi dum aloo when i grabbed some cute baby potatoes recently. Despite of the tedious process, this recepi is worth trying. Absolutely rich and delicious.

I used both cashews and cream in this recepi for the rich and creamy gravy. Do not skip the palm sugar as it enhance the flavour to the tastebud. The freshly ground spices gives the additional flavor to the gravy. If you couldn't find baby potatoes, use regular potatoes cut into halves which works well with the recepi. Serve with rice or chapati this potato recepi are yummylicious 😋

Ingredients

To Dry Roast

1"inch cinnamon stick

1/2 tbsp fennel seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

3 cloves

1 tbsp coriander seeds

3 green cardamoms

For The Curry

1/2 kg baby potatoes

1 green chilly

5 cloves garlic,chopped

1 large red onion,chopped

1"inch ginger,chopped

1 cup plain yogurt

2 tbsp + 1 tbsp mustard oil,divided

2 tbsp heavy cream

1 tsp palm sugar

1 tbsp kasturi methi,crushed

1 cup of water

1/3 tsp garam masala

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1 1/4 tsp Kashmiri chilly powder

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/4 tsp hing

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp black pepper powder

Salt to taste

Methods

Boil water in a pan, add potatoes and cook for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and cover the pan with lid. Let the potatoes remain in the pot for 15 minutes.

Drain the potatoes and rinse with cold water. Peel off the skin and prick the potatoes all over with a toothpick. Keep aside.

Heat a pan and dry roast all the ingredients listed under "To Dry Roast". Roast the ingredients on low-medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Let the ingredients cool down amd grind into fine powder.

In a pan, heat mustard oil and fry green chilly,garlic and ginger till fragrant. Add the onion and cashews, saute till onions turns soft. Let the ingredients cool down and grind into a fine paste. Keep aside.

In a pan add remaining 4 tbsp mustard oil and fry the boiled potatoes till all sides turns golden. Transfer to a pan and let it cool down. Prick again the potatoes on all sides.

To the same pan, add hing,bay leaf, cumin seeds and 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chilly powder. Saute for 20-25 seconds.

Add the prepared cashew onion paste and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add black pepper powder and the ground spice powder. Stir well and cook for a minute.

Remove pan from heat and stir in the yogurt. Stir continiously to mix well.

Place the pan again on medium heat amd cook for 3-4 minutes by stirring continiously.

Add the remaining 1/4 tsp Kashmiri chilly powder and turmeric powder. Cook for another 4-5 minutes.

Add the potatoes and 1 cup of water. Stir and cover with lid tightly and cook in dum method for 5-7 minutes.

Add garam masala,cream and crushed kasthuri methi. Add the remaining 1 cup water and simmer on low heat for 3-4 minutes. Cover with lid and cook for another 4-5 minutes.

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Thazampoo @ Kewra Water Nan Khatai

This is my second time baking Nan Khatai but, this time with varition. I replace rose water with equally fragrance kewra or thazampoo water which turns out really good. The whole house filled with the aromatic of kewra water  and it was very much intoxicating.

Kewra water can be found in shops selling Middles Eastern goodies. I was excited to found kewra water and without thinking twice grabbed a bottle. I use it for my sherbet,flavoured rice and this is my first trial with cookies. The cookies are bursting with the sweet kewra flavour,nutty in taste and melt in your mouth.

Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 confectioners sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/8 tsp salt
Pinch of baking soda
Pinch of cardamom powder
1/4 tsp kewra water
1 1/3 tbsp crushed dry rose petals
1 1/2 tbsp chopped pistachio

1 /2 tbsp chopped almonds

Methods

In a bowl, combine flour,salt,cardamom powder and baking soda. Keep aside

Using an hand or stand mixer, beat butter and confectioners sugar till pale and fluffy.

Add kewra water and beat for 2-3 seconds.

Add in the flour mixture in 2 batches making sure to beat after each addition. Do not overbeat.

With a spatula, fold in the rose petals. Shape the dough into a log and wrap in a cling wrap. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven at 375'F or 180'C. Line a baking tray with parchment papet and keep aside.

Divide the dough into a equal 16 small sized balls and place onto a prepared baking tray.

Using a knife, gently slit the top of the balls to create a design.

Sprinkle chopped pistachio and almonds on the prepared cookie dough and give a light tap for the pistachio to stick onto the cookies during baking in the oven.

Bake for 18-20 minutes or till the edges slightly golden.

Remove from oven and let it cool on the tray for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container.

Notes

• You may easily double up the recepi. Original recepi yields 16-18 cookies

Grapefruit And Orange Cooler

 

This is what i call as grapefruit cooler bursting with citrus tastes. The sweet aroma of grapefruit and orange are perfect as cooler on sunny days. The bright orangy colur of the cooler are definitely a crowd puller. Honey balances the tartness of the blood orange and enhance the flavour.

Grapefruit aka blood orange comes in pink and deep dark red colur. Grapefruits are known for its tartness thus, natural sweetener like honey works well to reduce the tartness. 

To get 100% of daily recommended vitamin C just consume whole grapefruit everyday for your vitamin C fix. High in antioxidants and boost immune system to fight bacteria and viruses. This is a fruit that one shall hv in their everyday diet.

Ingredients

2 cups water

150 mililitre orange juice

200 mililitre grapefruit juice

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 cup ice cubes

4-5 tbsp honey

Mint leaves for garnishing

Methods

In a pitcher, combine grapefruit juice,orange juice,lemon juice and water. Stir.

Add honey and ice cubes. 

Pour into serving cups and garnish with mint leaves.

Cashew Rava Dates Panniyaram

It's Sunday breakfast in our household with cashews rava dates panniyaram. I made rava dates panniyaram before but not with nuts instead I added coconut for the crunchy texture. This time though, I added cashews which rendered the same crunchy texture. It's rich in flavor especially with added dates molasses.

Dates molasses can be found in Asian or Mid Eastern groceries. Thick in texture a little amount goes a long well. It's sweet, dark, tiny hint of smokiness which enhance the flavour of this delicious panniyaram. Do not skip dates molasses in this recipe for the unique flavor.

This panniyaram goes really well with our morning cup of coffee. It's quite filling with all the healthy ingredients to start the day.  It's great for evening tea time treat or as Neiveidhyam as well. 

Ingredients 

1 cup semolina/rava

1/2 cup chopped dates 

3 tbsp chopped cashew nuts

1/2 cup yogurt

3/4 cup whole milk

1 tbsp dates molasses 

1/2 tsp cardamom powder

1/4 tsp salt

Ghee for frying 

Methods

In a large bowl,  add semolina, salt and  cardamom powder. Stir to combine. 

Add grated coconut,chopped dates, milk and yogurt and dates molasses. Mix well. 

Heat oil in a kuzhi panniyaram pan f Using a tablespoon, gently drop the batter to the pan and fry on medium heat on both sides till done. 

Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen towel to drain excess ghee. 

Serve hot with tea or coffee. 

Makhana Kheer

This is definitely one of the easiest kheer to make especially when guest appear unannounced. Can be prepared in jiffy with simple ingredients which doesn't compromise in taste. It's rich, creamy and absolutely delicious.

I bought a packet of phool makhana out of curiosity. Makhana is none other than prickly lotus seeds known as fox nuts. Makhana are great as snacking for diabetes and heart patients. Loaded with antioxidants it works wonders as anti ageing. Source of high protein which is low in fat. 

Makhana kheer can be served as warm or chilled. I prefer mine warm whereas, Dandelions always go for chilled kheer. Always roast the makhana till crispy for a perfect kheer. Ideal for festive season sweets or as offering for the Almighty. 

Ingredients 

1 1/3 cups makhana 

1 3/4 cups whole milk

3 tbsp sugar 

Pinch of saffron strands 

Tiny pinch of salt

10-12 cashew nuts

10-12 almonds

1 tbsp chopped pistachio 

2-3 cardamom pods, crushed 

1 1/2 tbsp ghee

Methods

In a pan, heat ghee and roast the makhana till crispy. Transfer to a plate and cool it completely. Take 1/4 cups of the makhana and grind into coarse powder. 

In the same pan with the remaining ghee,  fry cashew nuts and almonds till golden. Transfer to a plate. 

Boil milk in a pan, add saffron strands,crushed cardamom and sugar. Stir well and simmer for 3-4 minutes.

Add the powdered makhana stir till the mixture thickened. Add the roasted whole makhana and give a quick stir. 

Switch off the heat and sprinkle with fried cashew nuts,almonds and chopped pistachio. 

Serve the kheer warm or chilled. 

Sangkaya @ Pandan Custard

 

Everytime we visit Boat Noodles restaurant here which serving Thai food,  this pandan custard served with cubed steamed bread is a must. Thick, creamy pandan custard dipped with soft and fluffy steamed bread. The taste lingers in my mouth and I savoured the same recently when we visited Thai food festival. I know I should make it at home and here you go. 

We have some homegrown pandan leaves in my backyard which is the staple for this dish. No artificial coloring or flavour added as the pandan leaves rendered aroma flavour and beautiful color to the custard. You may find pandan leaves in Asian groceries as well. 

Do not worry much if few lumps appeared while stirring the custard as little bit of lumps will eventually disappear with continues stirring. You may sieve the custard for a silky and smooth finish if there's lumps. Mine are perfect thus, I skipped the sieving process. A dessert to serve on weekends or weekday to satisfy your sweet tooth. 

Ingredients

3 pandan leaves

3 tbsp condensed milk

1 1/3 cups coconut milk

1/4 cup granulated white sugar 

3 egg yolks 

3 tbsp evaporated milk 

1 tbsp cornstarch 

Salt to season 

For Serving 

Steamed white bread, cut into cubes

Methods 

In a blender add pandan leaves and coconut milk until fine. Sieve thru muslin cloth. Discard the fibre. 

Add the mixture into a thick bottomed pan alongside condensed milk. Heat over medium heat and cook till the mixture just warm. Do not boil the mixture.

Meanwhile in another bowl whisk egg yolks,granulated white sugar,cornstarch and salt. 

Add 1 laddeful of the coconut milk mixture into the whisked egg and stir continuously.

Add the egg mixture back into the coconut milk mixture and stir well to combine over a low heat. Keep stirring until the mixture thickened. Once the mixture stop thickening remove the pan from heat. 

Stir in the evaporate milk and transfer to a serving bowl. 

Serve with steamed bread. 

Eggless Gulab Jamun Cupcake

I was actually looking for eggless Gila jamun cake for a friend of mine. Did some enquiries with few bakers friends and none are baking eggless gulab jamun cake. That the time I thought why not I try baking one and the outcome is this gorgeous cuppies. Since I'm the one who in-charge of the turn out in my kitchen instead ordinary of gulab jamun cake baked eggless mini gulab jamun cheesecake.

This is baked cheesecake,yet to try the no-bake version but I'm sure both are equally good. I have some leftover Oreo cookies crumb which I used as base this delicious cake which enhance the richness in flavor. Digestive biscuit or oats cookies crumbs works well too. In my case,  the Oreo crumbs add flavours and the colour contrast of beautiful black and yellow. Admire the royal yellow in my cupcake? Credit goes to the saffron soaked milk..a little goes a long way in this recipe.

You may use store bought or homemade gulab jamun just make sure to get the best jamun in the market for the ultimate taste. The cake has almost all the elements of gulab jamun which made it into fusion dessert. Perfect to serve for festivies seasons for family and friends and definitely an eye catcher on any desserts table. 

Ingredients 

For The Crust 

1/2 cup Oreo cookies crumb

1/4 cup melted butter

For The Cheesecake Filling

1/2 cup cream cheese,room temperature 

3/4 cup condensed milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

12 gulab jamun 

1 tsp rose water

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp warm milk

Pinch of saffron strands 

2 tbsp chopped pistachio 

Rose petals for garnishing 

Silver foils

Methods 

For The Crust

Preheat oven at 170'c and line a 12 hole cupcake tray with cupcake liners.  

Combine Oreo cookies crumb and butter. Mix well and spoon out 2 tablespoon and press firmly into the prepared cupcake liners. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and let it to cool.

For The Filling

In a small bowl add warm milk and saffron, stir and keep it aside. 

Using a hand or stand mixer beat the cream cheese for 30 seconds. Add the condensed milk and heavy. Beat till fluffy.

Beat in lemon juice,saffron milk and rose water. Beat till combined and do not overmix.

Pour the batter equally into the pre-baked biscuits layer of the  cupcake liners. Place the gulab jamun in the center of the cupcake.

Bake at 20-22 minutes in 165'C oven. Switch off the oven and let cake sit inside of the oven for 30-35 minutes.

Cool them completely before refrigerate for 3 hours. 

Garnish with chopped pistachio,silver foils and rose petals before serving. 

Crinkle Cake

 

I don't have a Tik Tok account somehow a friend of mine shared this particular cake in my what's app to give it a try. I was amazed at how easy they process and baked my own.  Other than phyllo pastry all the other ingredients are something you can find in your everyday pantry. As for me,  I had a ready stock of phyllo pastry and I quickly get into work. 

As posh as the cake might look or at least at first glance I thought it might be extremely difficult to bake but,  trust me it was an easy peas even for a beginner. Just scrunch the dough to form the crinkles and walla you're are done with the "art" 😁. Not sure why it was called as crinkle cake I would rather call it crinkle pastry. 

It was more to Mediterranean ellements in the cake with the usage of phyllo pastry and drizzling of sugar sugar. The original sugar syrup calls for simple syrup but I made a twist to it by adding cinnamon stick and cardamom pods which enhance the flavou.

I shared the cake with my Dandelion's classmates and all I received is praises alone. Indeed it was a delicious and flavourful cake to cherish among family and friends.

Ingredients 

1 package of phyllo pastry,  defrost

1/2 cup water 

1 cup milk 

2 large eggs 

1 tsp vanilla extract 

1 cup melted butter

2 cups sugar, divided 

1 cinnamon stick

2 pods cardamom 

2 tbsp chopped pistachio 

Methods

Preheat oven at 350'F or 175'C and line a 13x9 inch baking tray with parchment paper.

Take 2 sheets of phyllo dough, hold both ends fold them into crinkle by scrunching about an inch thick.

 Place in the prepared baking pan with the folds facing up. Repeat with the remaining phyllo dough and stack till the tray are full. Bake for 10 minutes. 

Remove from oven and drizzle evenly with melted butter. Bake for another 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk in sugar, milk, eggs, vanilla extract.

Remove the crinkle from the oven and pour over the egg milk mixture. Bake for 35-40 minutes. 

In a pan boil the remaining 1 cup sugar, water,cinnamon stick and cardamom pods over medium heat for 10 minutes or till the mixture thickened. Turn off the heat.

Remove the crinkle cake from oven and drizzle with the sugar sugar. Let it rest for 1 hour for the syrup to absorb.

Sprickle with chopped pistachio, slice and serve.

Bengali Fish Curry

Bengalis love their fish. Be it on curry, fried fish or grilled fish they just devour their fish dishes.  As much as them,  I love fish as well and anything with fish I'm in it. During one of the weekend when I did my marketing I was participating looking for pomfret having in mind to dish out this Bengali fish curry. 

Found this beautiful white pomfret and came back to cook this delicious curry. Unlike the regular fish curry,  this gorgeous looking curry required very little spices and easy steps to prepare. Do not skip mustard oil in the process as it's lend the much needed nutty flavour and enhance the base of the curry. Serve with hot white rice for a maximum taste. 

Ingredients 

5 pieces pomfret, wash & cleaned 

4 green chillies 

1 large onion, chopped 

1 large tomato,chopped

3 cloves garlic

1 tsp turmeric powder 

1/2 tsp Nigella seeds 

1 tsp cumin powder

1 1/2 tsp Kashmiri chilly powder 

1/2 tsp sugar 

1 1/3 cups water 

Handful chopped coriander leaves 

4 tbsp mustard oil

Salt to season 

Methods

Marinate the fish with 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and salt for an hour. 

Grind the tomato, onion & garlic into coarse paste. 

Heat oil in a pan and fry the fish till golden brown. Transfer to a plate line with kitchen towel. 

In the same pan add the mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds splutter add green chillies ,ground onion tomato paste. Cook for 3-4 minutes till oil started to separate.

Add chilly powder, cumin powder,sugar and remaining 1/2 tsp turmeric powder. Add 2-3 tbsp water and cook for another 3-4 minutes.

Add 1 1/4 cups of water and cook for 2-3 minutes.  Add the fried fish and keep cooking for 4-5 minutes. 

Add the chopped coriander leaves and switch off the heat.

Serve with hot white rice. 

Jackfruit Butter Cake

 

It's a jackfruit season here and I found this beautiful fruit everywhere on the street vendors. I bought them from my regular fruit vendor and  after consuming on its own the remaining went into baking this delicious jackfruit butter cake. 

Do use good quality butter for the perfect butter cake and make sure all the ingredients are in room temperature. If you noticed I didn't use vanilla extract in my cake as the naturally jackfruit have a beautiful aroma on its own. For the rich jackfruit flavor I added chopped jackfruit and pureed jackfruit as well. 

Next time when you have abundance of jackfruit, do try bake this aromatic, rich and buttery jackfruit cake to woo your family and friends. Perfect to serve for tea and party as well.

Ingredients 

250g butter, room temperature 

180g castor sugar

210g self raising flour,sifted

4 large eggs, room temperature 

100g jackfruit pulp, chopped

100g jackfruit puree

1/3 cup milk, room temperature 

Few slices of jackfruit pull, cut lenghtwise

Methods

Preheat oven at 170'c and line an 8"inch baking tray with parchment paper. Keep aside.

Using a hand or stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar till pale and fluffy. 

Beat in the eggs one at a time. Beat on each addition. Add the 1/4 of flour and  beat.  Pour in 1/2 milk in continue to beat for 2 seconds. Add another 1/4 part of flour and beat for 2 seconds.  Pour off the remaining milk and beat for another 2 seconds.  Add the remaining flour,jackfruit pulp and jackfruot puree.  Beat till just combine.

Pour the batter into prepared baking tray. Arrange with sliced jackfruit pulp.  Bake for 45 minutes or a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Cool on tray for 20 minutes before transfering to cool completely on the wire rack.

Slice and serve with hot coffee or tea. 

Silver Dollar Pancake

 

Pancake in any form or flavour is Dandelions all time favourite breakfast be it on weekdays or weekends. Pancakes is one of their school breakfast box menu as well with berries and honey. It's easy to prepare for the weekdays rush with simple everyday ingredients.

Known as silver dollar pancake this,  cute little pancake resembles the size of a dollar. It's perfect for brunch, birthday parties or as pancake kabobs. It's easy to dish out to toddlers as no knife or fork needed to enjoy this cutie. This silver dollar pancake can be made in variation of flavours and different toppings or fruits and berries. 

I made with basic ingredients without any variation and it's tastes excellent. I tried few variations later for Dandelions weekend breakfast with chocolate chips,blueberries,pepperoni and cheese and tastes as good as it is. Will definitely be in our breakfast or brunch menu in the future as well.

Ingredients 

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour 

1 egg

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp granulated white sugar

4 tbsp butter

1 1/4 cups whole milk

Methods

In a large bowl, add flour, salt, baking powder and sugar. Whisk to combine.

In another bowl, whisk milk and egg.  

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk till no lumps. 

Heat butter in a girdle, scoop 3/4 tablespoon batter and cook till the edges dry up and tiny bubbles appeared.

Gently flip and cook on the other side.  Repeat with the remaining batter. 

Serve with your favorite toppings and fruits/berries.

Anardhana Chicken

 

When I saw some chicken drumstick in the market, I know instantly what I'm gonna cook with those beauties. Beautiful legs deserves all the goodness of specials. Grabbed some of those sexy drumsticks and as always I have vibrant red ruby Indian pomegranate waiting for some action. Cutting, chopping, mixing,stirring and walla such a mesmerizing chicken dish waiting to dig in. 

This recepi originated from Himachal Pradesh, India and cooked in my little hut and I shall say one of the best chicken dish amazed me. I just love the color of the gravy and the thick consistency . No water added,  as the chicken gets cooked in it's own juices. If you prefer more gravy do add water to adjust the consistency.

This chicken gravy also known as Anardhana chicken or pomegranate chicken slowly cooked in dried pomegranate seeds but,  I added a little of fresh pomegranate juice for an extra kick. It's tart, juicy, tangy and little hint of sweetness. The pomegranate rendered an unique flavor and helps to tenderize the chicken. Serve with rice or bread and I'm sure you'll love my pomegranate chicken.

Ingredients 

1kg chicken, cleaned

4 tbsp dried pomegranate powder

3 tbsp pomegranate juice

1 cup plain yogurt 

1 1/2 tbsp coriander powder 

1 1/2 tbsp chilly powder 

1 1/2 tbsp ginger garlic paste 

1/2 tsp turmeric powder 

Salt to taste 

For The Gravy

5 green cardamoms,coarsely pound

5 cloves,coarsely pound 

2 black cardamoms

1"inch cinnamon stick 

1 tsp garam masala 

2 bay leaves 

2 large onions,chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped 

1/2"inch ginger, chopped 

3 tbsp ghee

1/4 cups fresh pomegranate seeds

2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves 

Methods

In a large bowl, add all the ingredients listed under "For Marination". Mix till the chicken are well coated with the marination. Cover with cling wrap and  let it rest for 1-2 hours.

In a pan, heat ghee over medium flame and saute cinnamon stick, bay leaves, green and black cardamoms and cloves. 

Add the chopped ginger and garlic saute for 10-15 seconds.

Add the onion and saute till the onion turns lightly browned.

Add the marinated chicken with all the marination ingredients and saute for 5-7 minutes. 

Cover with lid and cook for 25-30 minutes by stirring occasionally.

Add garam masala and stir. Cook the chicken for another 5-7 minutes and till oil started to appear on the surface. 

Remove from heat and sprinkle with chopped coriander leaves and fresh pomegranate seeds.

Serve with white rice,roti or naan.

Persian Chickpea Cookies

This is definitely one of my favourite cookies. Nokhodchi known as traditional Persian cookies with the hint of cardamom and rose water are too good to resist. Simple recepi for an amateur baker to try their hands on cookies. Easy to follow methods of course. No beating, no room temperature ingredients,no whisking just mix,roll and bake. 

Roasting the chickpea flour are truly optional but, trust me that little roasting goes a long way to create a nice aroma and nutty flavour to the cookies.  I tried to bake with both version of roasting flour and raw flour,  I shall say I'll go with the earlier one. 

You may use olive oil or butter but ghee takes this cookies to the next level. This cuties are sinfully decadent. Melt in your mouth texture with wonderful fragrance of Middle East I truly devour each bite of it. Serve with a cuppa of tea or coffee and store the remaining in an airtight container. 

Ingredients

1 cup besan/chickpea flour 

1/4 cup ghee 

1/4 tsp cardamom powder

1/3 cup confectioners sugar 

1/3 tsp rose water

2 tbsp chopped pistachio 

2 tbsp rose petals, crushed 

Methods

Over a medium low heat,  roast the chickpea flour for 1-2 minutes making sure not to burn the flour. Once a nice aroma comes thru, switched off the flame and transfer to a large bowl. Add cardamom powder and confectioners sugar to the roasted chickpea flour. Mix well. 

Add the ghee and rub into the flour mixture to form a sandy mixture. Knead well till the dough comes together. Add the rose water and knead for 1 minute. 

Cover the bowl with cling wrap and let it rest for 1-2 hours. 

Preheat oven and line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Lightly dust a clean working surface with chickpea flour and using a rolling pin,  toll the dough into 1/2 inches thick. 

Using a cookie cutter of your preference and cut out the dough. Place onto the prepared baking tray garnish with rose petals and chopped pistachio. Bake 12-15 minutes. 

Remove from the oven and cool on the tray for 10 minutes. 

Serve with a cuppa of tea or coffee.