How to roast peanuts

roasted peanuts

This is a simple recipe of how to roast your peanuts at home. Roasted, salted peanuts serve as a great snack or anytime munchie. They are much healthier than ready-made namkeens. If you use sendha salt, then you can also have them as a snack during Ekadashi or Navratra fast.
Recipe of salted, roasted peanuts
1 cup raw peanuts (kachhi moongphali) with red skin
1 tbsp oil
Salt to taste
How to roast peanuts
1. Heat oil in a kadhai (wok) and turn the heat to medium-low.
2. Add peanuts and salt and mix them well. Roast them stirring constantly.
3. After some time, there will be crackling sound from the peanuts and they will begin to slightly split.
4. Keep roasting for some time till red skin of peanuts look well roasted with dark red color and slightly black marks. Take care not to burn them.
5. Turn off the heat and take peanuts out of kadhai. Let them cool before sampling your roasted peanuts as they will turn crisp after cooling down.

How to Cook Rice

rice

This is an easy and quick recipe of cooking basmati rice. Here I have used Indian style pressure cooker used in Indian homes. The rice turns out 'khila khila' that is with open texture.
Recipe of cooking rice
1 cup basmati rice (long grain)
2 cups of water
1 tsp ghee (clarified butter)- optional
How to cook rice
1. Wash rice thoroughly in several changes of water till water runs clear. Drain.
2. Soak rice in 2 cups of water for 15-20 minutes.
3. Heat ghee in a pressure cooker and add rice along with soaking water.
4. Pressure cook to 1 whistle. Turn off the heat and let the pressure drop down naturally before opening the lid of the cooker.
5. Your rice is ready to be eaten with dal, kadhi, rajma or any vegetable of your choice.

cooked rice in pressure cooker

How to Cook Brown Rice

brown rice

This is a recipe of long grain brown rice or brown basmati rice. Here I have used Indian style pressure cooker used commonly in Indian households. This is a simple and easy to follow recipe which gets the result you want. Brown rice is much healthier than white rice. It's as good as eating roti. So, if you are fond of eating rice and can't have your plateful for health or diet whatever reason, try this recipe of brown rice for guilt free indulgence.
Recipe of brown rice
1 cup long grain brown rice (brown basmati rice)
2 1/4 cup water
1. Wash rice thoroughly under running water.
2. Soak in water for 1 hour. Drain.
3. Put brown rice and 2 & 1/4 cups of water in a pressure cooker. Let 1 whistle come. Then turn the heat to lowest point.
4. Cook for 15 minutes no matter how many whistles or no whistle comes in cooker.
5. After pressure drops down naturally, open the lid of cooker and your brown rice is ready.

How to Make Paneer

paneer

Paneer is nothing but white colored Indian cottage cheese. Usually people buy it from store but it cannot be compared with soft, healthy and hygienic homemade paneer.  Here I have used  cow's milk with 4% fat but 3% milk or single toned milk will also do. Try it and I am sure you will start making your paneer at home from then on. What's more it's economical too.
Recipe of homemade paneer
1 ltr. milk
2 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar
1. Take a heavy bottomed vessel and put milk in it. Bring the milk to boil.
2. Lower heat and add lemon juice or vinegar to milk while stirring the milk.
3. Milk solids will curdle and greenish colored water will separate from them, which is called whey.
4. Line a strainer with muslin cloth or a very thin cotton cloth. Pour whey along with milk solids in it.
5. What you get now is milk solids or chhena. Gather the edges of cloth, tie them and hang from the tap (faucet) for about 20-25 minutes so that all water is removed from chhena.
6. Put this chhena in a plate and keep a heavy object on it (I use my marble chakla) for about 20-25 minutes.
7. Now, remove that object and untie the cloth. You get a block of homemade paneer. You can cut this paneer into pieces and use it for a variety of dishes like matar paneer, shahi paneer and palak paneer.

milk solids curdling      

chhena

homemade paneer

How to Make Ghee (Clarified Butter) at Home

home made ghee

Hello readers, I was gone for a long time and there was no blogging or very few and far between. But now I am back with some delicious recipes. In this post I am sharing the recipe of making ghee at home from malai. This recipe was shared by my sister-in-law Gunjan Gupta and yields excellent results.

Recipe of ghee from malai

1. Collect malai (top skin of milk) from milk everyday and store in the freezer till you collect sufficient amount.

2. The day you have about 2- 2&1/2 hour of spare time, take out malai from freezer 3 hours prior to making ghee.

3. Pour 250 ml of hot water in the malai so that malai gets melted.

4. Now beat malai with the help of a beater (or mathani). I use hand blender. Beat malai till white butter floats on top. If you use hand blender, it may take 10 minutes or more in this process.

5. Using a strainer, remove butter from the remaining milk and put in a kadhai (heavy bottomed vessel). Put the kadhai on high heat and stir occasionally.

6. When butter begins to boil, turn the heat to low and let it cook. Stir occasionally. You can attend to your other chores provided you remain nearby and stir the butter occasionally.

7. After some time, you will observe that ghee floats on top. Cook for some more time till more ghee comes on top.Turn off the heat and strain the ghee using a metal strainer in a clean utensil. You can start using this ghee right away or store in the fridge for later use.

Note: The milk residue that remains in the kadhai needn't go to waste. You can roast it in the same kadhai on a low heat till brownish and add powdered sugar to it. It tastes like a tasty mithai (sweetmeat).
The milk that remains after beating the malai and taking out butter, can also be used. You can put that milk on heat and when it comes to boil, pour some lemon juice and stir. The milk will curdle and you will get chhena. 
Strain it and you can make paneer (Indian Cottage Cheese) from it.