1 Minute Microwave Pizza In A Mug | No Egg 60 Second Pizza in a Mug | No Oven Pizza | Vegetarian Pizza

Okay, so this by far is the most interesting recipe I am sharing with you all. To those of you who follow me on my social media platforms would know how much I love and savour Pizza. I can eat a pizza almost every day, yes yes and I am not exaggerating, I promise I can; but then I am reminded of Joey’s dialogue from the television series Friends- once on lips, forever on the hips. So if like me you also loooove pizza and there are days when you crave for it really bad, but want to shut your mouth because of all the calories-then this recipe is going to solve your problem.

So are you ready?

This is:

·         1 minute pizza

·         A 60 second pizza

·         No oven pizza

·         Gets ready in a microwave

·         You only need a cup, a mug or a bowl –no other utensil required

·         No knead pizza

·         Anytime pizza, instant pizza and preparations takes only 1 minute.

·         Freshly made, no store bought pizza base needed

·         Can satisfy anytime hunger pangs.

·         Great for kids who loves pizza; this way you can portion control too.

·         Office lunch time meal idea too. I would prepare it a mug; cover it with Clingfilm and then just microwave at work. Piping hot pizza ready in 1 minute.

So if the above point entices you and excites you, you are on the right page. Now imagine, you have that sudden urge to have a pizza, but you are not hungry enough to have one whole pizza. Or you don’t want those frozen pizza from the supermarket or a store bought dominos, pizza hut or papa john pizza, you want to make your own, but again you don’t have so much time to knead the dough and work with the yeast-in both the above cases this one minute pizza in a mug in a microwave is your answer.

There are tons of recipes on this concept and I tried so many of them until this one worked really well for me. So this is my tried and tested recipe after many failures and attempts.

How to make a good Microwavable Pizza in a mug/cup/bowl? What are tips to make a good pizza in a cup? Here are my tips.

• Measure the ingredients. Do not eyeball the ingredients or just use as per approximation. Correct measurements are very important.

• Use a mug which is broad from the top, you want the microwave waves to reach up till the bottom, so cup that has a broad opening from the top, just like a bowl will do the trick.

• Do not add too many toppings, just a handful. Remember it is a very small pizza.

• This is an eggless recipe, without an egg and this is my next tip-please do not use egg, it will ruin your pizza.

• Do not try to use whole wheat flour, I tried and it failed miserably.

• You can use tomato ketchup or a mix of spicy sauce and tomato sauce instead of pizza sauce-and it work just fine.

• Last but not the least, have it hot, eat it right when it’s out from the microwave. This is instant pizza recipe so you cannot reheat it –it will become rubbery, so have it instantly.

If you follow the above tips, I promise you can just not go wrong with this recipe. So, here is

Indian Vegetarian, No Eggs, 1 Minute Microwave Instant Pizza in a Mug recipe.

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons all purpose flour/maida

1/8 teaspoon baking powder

1 pinch baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons milk

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons pizza sauce (or tomato ketchup)

3 tablespoons grated mozzarella cheese

Toppings- I used 1 black olive, 1 tablespoon chopped capsicum and tomato

1 teaspoon dried herb (or mix oregano and basil)

1/4 teaspoon red chilli flakes

Method:

In a mug that you are using, mix all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt. Mix all the dry ingredients.

Add milk and olive oil. Mix with a fork, so that you don’t have any lumps.

Spread the pizza sauce on it.

Top it up with grated cheese and spread toppings.

Sprinkle dried herb and red chilli flakes.

Microwave for 1 minute.You will see that cheese has melted and is bubbling on the top.

Enjoy right away.

Notes:

You might need to microwave for 1 minute 10 or 20 seconds. The timing is based on my 1200W microwave so your timing might vary.

Cooking time might also vary depending on the size of the mug. The mug I used is around 1 and ¾ cup.

Always keep an eye, just in case you see that it is overflowing. Pause for 2 seconds and start the microwave timer again.

Tiffin Wali Bhindi : Bhindi Massala: Okra Stir Fry

School time is the best time of our lives, ofcourse we realise that once we are in college. One of the fondest memories of school days-sharing tiffin boxes. We used to get 30 minutes recess and it was all about chit-chats and food. Tiffin box was always a surprise, and my mother made sure that every time it was a happy one.

We (my brother and myself) never got bread butter or jam butter in our tiffin box, it was always about paratha subji as mother believed that only paratha subji can suffice our hunger and give all the good energy for school. It was mostly plain paratha with any sukhi (dry) subji- aloo ki subji, pata gobi ki subji, gobi matar and beans subji.

Of all these options, I treasured and enjoyed most Bhindi Ki Subji, Okra Stir Fry and you can also call it as Massala Bhindhi. So the other day I was asking my mom over the phone about why Tiffin Wali Bhindi was so good and what special ingredient did she put in it? She replied-kuch bhi nahi (nothing). The simplicity of the subji makes it extraordinary. No onion, no ginger, no garlic, no garam massala- just 3 spices and get ready in jiffy.

This is tiffin wali subji, means it is ideal for packing it in your kids’ lunchbox or your husband’s tiffin. So, give makeover of dishes some rest and try this easy peasy full of flavours, good old style Tiffin Vali Bhindi a try.

Ingredients:

2 cups chopped okra/lady finger/bhindi

2 tablespoons oil

¼ teaspoon turmeric powder/haldi

½ teaspoon red chilli powder/lal mirchi

1teaspoon coriander powder/dhaniya

Salt to taste

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Method:

Heat oil in a kadai. When oil gets hot reduce the flame/heat to low.

Throw okra, turmeric powder and salt. Give a quick mix. Cover and cook till okra is half cooked.

Open the lid and add red chilli powder and coriander powder. Cover and cook again for 1 minute.

When okra is cooked completely mix in lime juice.

Serve.

Notes:

It is very important that you wash okra well. Make sure it is completely dry before you chop it and cook it. If the okra is not dry it will become mushy.
You can use amchur powder (dry mango powder) or dahi (yogurt/curd) instead of lemon juice.

Chawal Ki Kheer

From Navratri garba beats to preparations for Diwali-the festive mood is in full swing. I have started to clean the house, prepare the diyas and think about what should be the food menu for three days of diwali. In all this planning I forgot to think about Karva Chauth- another Indian festival wherein the married ladies fast from sunrise to moonrise for the long life and prosperity of her husband.

These festivals add a bit of sparkle and fun to the otherwise daily routine. As always an indain sweet is a must in the end and this time I decided to put together Chawal Ki Kheer. Chawal Ki Kheer is like rice pudding made by boiling the milk on low heat, which is then thickened by rice and sweetened with sugar or goor (jaggery).

To be honest I find indian sweets very complicated sometimes; most of sweets like jalebi, gulab jamun or barfi asks for sugar syrup and I just can’t craft a good sugar syrup (chasni)-I just don’t understand the art of one thread or two thread consistency syrup. So for people like me I believe Kheer is a saviour. Kheer can be made with very basic ingredients and is very easy to prepare. Another variation of kheer that is very popular is Seviyan Ki Kheer.

Here are some tips on how to make a good Chaval Ki Kheer-

• Use good quality full fat milk. Boil the milk on low heat in a heavy bottom utensil.
• Always pre-soak the rice for atleast an hour. Do not use thick or fat rice. I recommend basmati rice.
• Before adding the rice to the milk, break the rice with your hand, like crumble the rice.
• Use saffron (kesar) as it brings beautiful colour to otherwise pale white kheer.
• Keep stirring the kheer, it will help it to thicken and also avoid burning.

Ingredients:

4 cups milk

1/4 cup rice (soaked in water for one hour)

2 green cardamom/elaychi

3-4 threads of saffron/kesar

Sugar to taste

Method:

Take a heavy bottom pan and boil the milk on low heat.

In the meantime strain the water from soaked rice and crumble the rice. Rice should be broken into small pieces.

Add the broken rice to boiling milk. Keep stirring the milk in between. Keep boiling the milk till the rice is cooked and milk is reduced to half quantity.

Then add sugar, cardamom and saffron. Let it boil for 1-2 minutes.

Serve.

Notes:

Everyone have their own sweet taste preference, that’s why I said sugar to taste :-)

You can add gud/goor/jaggery as well instead of sugar.

If you like coconut, feel free to add grated coconut as well.

Kheer can be served hot or cold-again totally depends on an individual’s taste.
I mixed 2-3 threads of saffron 2 tablespoons of warm milk and used it as garnish (the yellow liquid on the kheer in the pictures). 

Oven Roasted Chickpeas: Indian Style

Oven Roasted Chickpeas. Highly addictive! Roasted in oven, this protein loaded tiny chickpeas turns into salty snack- perfect nibble or a companion for any drink.

Recently folks from Ugly Drinks sent me a box of their new range of sparking water- Triple Berry, Orange, Lime &Lemon and Tropical. Yes, you don’t see Lime & Lemon in pictures below because it went straight in my tummy ;-)

To be honest, I haven't seen any drink as genuine as Ugly Drinks. They keep it real, with no sugar, no sweetener, no calories and absolutely nothing artificial. If you like sparkling waters that have no fat or salt then you HAVE to give them a try. I tried Tropical one and I was hooked- too good to be true. Perfect flavor and clean sparkling/bubbly taste.

Talking about today’s recipe. These are very Indian in taste, spicy kick from red chilli powder and bit of tang from lemon is dangerously great. Feel free to play around with spices, you can use cumin powder, red chilli flakes and even Italian herbs.

Now some tips on how to make them crunchy:

-Do not use too much oil. It will just make them soggy and mushy.

-Use a large baking pan. Do not overcrowd the pan.

-Whether you are using canned chickpeas or freshly boiled ones, do dry chickpeas on towel properly.

-Mix the spices properly. Toss the spices and leave it on chickpeas for atleast 5 minutes (just like any marination).

Ingredients:

1 can chickpeas

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder

Salt to taste

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Method:

Preheat the oven at 200C

Drain the chickpeas on a strainer. Wash thoroughly under running water.

Dry the chickpeas on a towel. Chickpeas should look dry and pale.

In a large mixing bowl, mix oil and salt. Toss well. Leave this for 5 minutes.

In a making pan, roast the chickpeas for 20-25 minutes. Stir the chickpeas in between to avoid burning.

Chickpeas are done when they have slight dark colour and crisp on the outside.

Throw in red chilli powder and lemon juice. Mix well so that chickpeas are coated well with spices.

Notes:

Chickpeas will be very crunchy when hot. Once it cool down it will lose its crispiness but will taste good.

Throw these chickpeas in salad or pulav for some extra crunch.

Disclaimer: I was not paid or told to write positive review. The post is based on my experience and is unbiased. Thanking Ugly Drinks for sending cans to review.

Dark Chocolate Walnuts: Guilt Free Snack

Chocolate is the best dessert one could have-ofcourse in moderation. Dark chocolate (70-80%) is even better. Dark chocolate is rich in antioxidants, iron and magnesium. Studies have shown that dark chocolate improves blood flow and controls high blood pressure. In my world dark chocolate is healthy, use good quality sugar free chocolate and you are good.

I have spoken previously about healthy chocolate barks and why it is a great energy snack. You can see my Roasted Nuts Chocolate Bars and Seeds Nutty Chocolate barks recipes. Today it is another way of consuming chocolate. Heart healthy, omega rich walnuts dipped in glazy dark chocolate-a guilt free snack.

One-quarter cup of walnuts, for instance, provides more than 100 percent of the daily recommended value of plant-based omega-3 fats, along with high amounts of copper, manganese, molybdenum, and biotin. That’s why it is so so so amazing to unite Dark Chocolate and Walnuts and make these.

Dark Chocolate Walnuts, is a great idea to suffice a sweet tooth without worrying about weight gain and it is so easy to make. I have seen recipes where vanilla essence, walnut oil and cocoa powder is used, but I wanted to keep it as simple as possible. Melt chocolate and coat walnuts and let it sit in the freezer. That’s it- Could not get easier than this.

Ingredients:

1 bar/100 grams dark chocolate (70-85%)

1 cup shelled walnuts

Method:

Take a baking tray or a plate. Line it with parchment paper or even kitchen foil will do.

Chop chocolate roughly. Melt it in microwave for 20 seconds. You might need to do it for more 10 seconds. Make sure that chocolate doesn’t burn and is melted properly.

Mix walnuts in melted chocolate. Coat the walnuts properly.

Spoon each walnut on the lined tray. Keep the tray in the freezer for 10 minutes.

Remove from the sheet and store it air tight container in the fridge.

Notes:

You can use milk chocolate or white chocolate too for this recipe. Or you can mix all three chocolates and use.

Same can be done with any other nuts like almonds, cashews or pistachios.

Aam Ki Chutney:Khati Meethi Kairi Ki Chutney:Instant Raw Mango Pickle

Nothing is more memorable than a smell. One scent can be unexpected, momentary and fleeting, yet conjure up a childhood summer. A summer under a neem tree; a summer with comics like chacha chaudry; a summer with mangoes.

Raw mangoes, kacha aam, kairi or ambi whatever you might call it but if you are an Indian you can relate to that summer mango pickle scent-a memorable lane to your childhood. Huge sacks of raw mangoes were bought and all the ladies of the house would sit in the veranda and began to work on the pickle. Mangoes were washed, dried on an old bedsheet and finally chopped into wedges. Carefully achaar massala was mixed and later the pickle was filled into cheeni barni. Lots of sunshine, care and devotion would make that pickle, which we would relish all the year long.

Today it is also about raw mango- a sort of a pickle recipe, with the pickle spices but in a chutney form. Khati Meethi Aam ki chutney, is my all time favourite summer mango recipe. This recipe is similar to Aam or kairi ki launji (lonji, loonji) which is very popular in Bengal; mango chunks are coated into sweet and sour flavours with pickle spices.

Aam Ki Chutney is more like a jam or spread, a mashed version. Sweetness from jaggery (gud) and sourness of raw mangoes is balanced with aromatic fennel (saunf) and other basic indian spices. It is an easy peasy homemade pickle or aachaar or jam which is healthy and free of preservatives.

Serve it as a dip along with nachos, chips or plain papad. Spread it on parathas, bread or puri. It also goes well as a side with rice and daal.

Ingredients:

5 small raw mangoes/kairi

2 tablespoons oil

1 pinch asafoetida/heeng

1 tablespoon fennel seeds/saunf

1 teaspoon cumin seeds/jeera

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds/rai

1/4 cup grated jaggery/gud/gur

Salt to taste

1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder/lal mirch

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

1/2 cup water

Method:

Wash mangoes. Peel the skin. Discard the seed. Cut into medium pieces and keep aside.

Heat oil in pan. When oil gets hot add heeng. Add rai and jeera. Let it crackle.

Add in haldi and water. Mix.

Add mangoes and all the remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on medium flame for 2 minutes.

After two minutes, start mashing the mango pieces with the back of a spoon.

Taste. You might need to add more jaggery (depending on sour the mangoes are).

Let it cool down. Fill it in air tight container.

Notes:

You can use sugar instead of jaggery.

This stays well in the fridge for 1 week.

If you like it like launji where mango pieces are visible (kada or akha or sabut as well call it) then cut mango pieces into wedges and do not add water. Cook it on very slow flame, covered in a non stick pan.

Ape Snaks: Coconut Curls: Healthy Snacking

'Motivation is what gets you started, habit is what keeps you going.’ This quote has changed my life in many ways. A lot of motivation to take some important changes in life has now become a habit.  I have started taking baby steps toward good health and better living. Made some important changes in life- like drinking more water, not skipping breakfast, including one apple everyday in my diet and counting my steps.

It’s believed that little workout or exercise is very important for everyone. On weekends I would generally do yoga, lunges, squats and some jumping jacks but on weekdays I hardly get time. So I decided to count my steps; everyone in London who travels by tube walks a lot and if you count your steps you will be motivated to reach and walk more. 10,000 steps a day is my target and I am counting it through a device called Up by Jaw. It’s a small device that is paired with my phone and it tells me everything-my steps, my sleep and also my calorie count. I stay so motivated with this that some day when my steps are low, I would get up and start walking for some time-be it in office or home.

Another thing, please choose your food wisely. Choose salad and fruits over smoothie; choose hummus over ketchup; baked chips over fried ones-oh there are so many such examples. That’s why when Ape Snacks approached me for a review I said yes in one go. The brand was the brainchild of young entrepreneur, Zack Nathan, who is on a mission to make snacking better in the UK. He explains, “With the explosion of “healthy” snacks over the past few years, Brits are clearly hungry for something that they can genuinely feel good about eating; consumers are moving away, rightly so, from traditional fried snacks and are starting to appreciate the numerous health benefits of nature’s wonderful coconut. What we do is provide both these benefits in an easy-to- eat format that is perfect for on-the- go snacking. We know consumers will love our genuinely delicious, but actually healthy, snacks!”

This summer ditch the crisps and pass on the popcorn, as there’s a new deliciously healthy snack in town, coconut curls from ape. Not only are ape snacks completely natural, they contain just two products; 100% coconut and seasoning. Plus they are gluten free, count towards your 5 a day and have no more than 109 calories per packet, so you can munch happy! A great choice for health-conscious snackers, coconut lovers and picnic goers.

The curls are thinly sliced directly from the coconut before being slowly dried to retain their natural flavor and nutritional goodness. They are not fried, have no added sugars or chemicals - and they are even crunchier than chips.These coconut curls, my steps counting device, earphones and walk-just made my life complete. Other ways that I am going to try and use these snacks are on my porridge, salads, soups, rice and pasta. You can use it my following recipes:

-Add in kiwi yogurt dip to add crunch

-sprinkle curls on burnt garlic  pasta

-skip papadamos and serve along rice and curry

-Sprinkle on Strawberry Lassi

-Roll it put with wraps or use it in tacos.

Ape’s coconut curls are available in two flavours: Lightly Salted and Slightly Peppered, with a third variant set to be released in the near future. They are available from Co-Op; Ocado; Whole Foods; PlanetOrganic; As Nature Intended; Harvey Nichols and Revital.

Disclaimer: I was not paid or told to write positive review. The post is based on my experience and is unbiased. Thanking Ape Snacks  for sending the packets for review. 

Dahi Ke Kebabs:Yogurt Kebabs:Yogurt Patties

Yogurt kebabs. Yogurt patties, I have been planning to create it in my kitchen for months so when Arla Foods sent their new range of yogurt for review and I just timed it right.

Arla Foods, the farmer-owned dairy company has continued to expand its portfolio of the UK’s pioneering lactose-free* dairy range by introducing Arla Lactofree® Natural Yogurt. Arla Lactofree Natural Yogurt is deliciously smooth and creamy, as well as being versatile. Frida Kjellberg, Brand Manager for Arla Lactofree, comments: “Our ambition is to ensure that wherever there is a dairy option, there is a Lactofree alternative; so this launch is another step towards fulfilling our goal. We’ve seen a huge demand for a Lactofree natural yogurt from our consumers and we are delighted to add it to our range.” Find more details on http://www.arlafoods.co.uk/

Velvety, creamy and sooooo yum. I used it in your smoothies, salads, indian curries and what not. With the pack I was sent this blue coloured lunch bag, shaker, oregano, bay leaf and mustard seeds. The challenge was to prepare a savoury dish from the yogurt and what could be better then these kebabs.

Looking for yogurt recipes? See this- Roasted BeetrootYogurt Dip, Yogurt Soup (kadi), Strawberry Lassi.

Yogurt kebabs or dahi ke kababs are made with hung yogurt and is becoming a very popular Indian appetizer. So velvety, smooth and use of simple flavours is what make these kebabs very different from other Indian style kebabs. Hung curd is mixed with grated paneer, followed by green chillies, coriander leaves and some basic seasoning. Later this mixture is shaped into patties and then roasted on a pan till it gets golden colour.

Here is how to make Yogurt Kebabs. Dahi Ke kebab.

Ingredients:

1 cup hung yogurt (see notes)

1 cup grated paneer

2 tablespoon roasted gram flour (besan)

1 green chilli chopped

4 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves

1 teaspoon black pepper powder

½ teaspoon oregano (optional)

Salt to taste

Oil for shallow frying

Method:

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl (expect oil). Keep in fridge for 30-45 minutes.

Place oil in a pan and let it get hot.

In the meantime, form patties. Take 2 tablespoons of mixture and form a ball.  Then flatten the ball into pattie shape and keep aside. Do the same with remaining mixture. I got around 10 patties.

On a low flame, fry the kebabs/patties till you get good golden colour. Turn and repeat the same on other side.

Serve hot.

Notes:

• Take around 3 cups of yogurt and put it muslin cloth. If you don’t have muslin cloth use handkerchief. Place the yogurt on the cloth and take all the edges of the cloth and tie it with a rubber band. Hang this cloth on your kitchen tap for 4 to 5 hours. All the liquid will be drained out and you will be left with very thick yogurt-that is called as hung yogurt.
• Some people like to add corn flour in the mixture for binding, but I skipped it.
• Feel free to add any other spice like red chilli powder, chaat massala or garam massala if you wish.

Arla Lactofree Natural Yogurt is available in ASDA from 27th June and will appear in other retailers in the coming months including Co-op from 6th July.  RRP £1.35

Disclaimer: I was not paid or told to write positive review. The post is based on my experience and is unbiased. Thanking Arla Foods  for sending the yogurt for review.