Pranhara/ Kachagolla

Pranhara , otherwise known as Kachagolla is one of that Bengali sweets , I can die for . I came across many pranhara or kacha golla recipes , but found either complex ( for a “fakibaaz” like me) or the process not giving justice to the name Kachagolla . Kacha golla is that round , roshgolla like sweet , where unlike roshgolla, the chaana ( cheese) is not cooked ! That is , the Chaana is kacha or raw !!!! So this is the recipe , I tried to make easy-peasy for everyone and ofcourse without compromising the real taste;

Ingredients:

Chaana from 4 cups of milk
Powder Milk 2-3 tbl spoon
Ghee 1 teaspoon
Sugar to taste
Cardamom powder , a pinch

Procedure to make Chaana:

Boil 4 cups of milk and when it comes to the boiling point , turn off the stove and add 2 tbl spoon of lemon juice . When the Water separates drain the chaana on a cheese cloth , wash with cold water . Squezze well , so that no water should be there . Your chaana is ready.

Procedure for Kachagolla/ Pranhara:

1. Take chaana,sugar, 1 teaspoon of ghee and cardamom powder in a bowl . Knead well until smooth . Remember , try to squeeze all the water from chaana before you make this sweet.

2. Now turn on the heat of your stove on low flame . Put the chaana on a pan and cook on a low flame just that long needed to evaporate the water or moist from the chaana ( as sugar gives moisture to the chaana) . Don’t cook on high flame or for too long , then it will get hard and not giving justice to the name kachagolla .

3. add the powder milk and mix very well with the chaana . Transfer immediately on a plate . Shape in round balls , when cools . Roll it over dry mawa . Your Kachagolla/ pranhara is readyy .

For dry mawa , mix ghee with powder milk in a proportion so that it has breadcrumb like texture. Strain with a strainer . Yur dry mawa is ready !!!!!

Garlic-Sesame Naan

Ingredients:

Flour 2 cups ( 1 cup =250 ml) , heaped
Instant active dry yeast 1 tea spoon ( level spoon)
Sugar 2 tea spoon
salt 1 tea spoon
Powder milk 1 tbl spoon
1 beaten egg
4 tbl spoon oil
1 tbl spoon of yogurt ( optional)
Half a teaspoon , grated or minced garlic
2 pinches of baking soda ( optional)
luke warm milk , enough to make a dough , around 1/3 rd cup ( Don’t put at a time , you may need less or you may need little more)

Other Ingredients:

Chopped garlic (If you r making garlic naan
Any herb of your choice like cilantro , mint
Sesame seeds
Butter to rub the naan

Procedure:

1. . Mix flour with sugar , salt , powder milk , yeast, soda,beaten egg, yogurt and garlic .now add the oil and incorporate with kneading. Knead for a while . Knead very well . Make a smooth dough and rub the dough with little oil. Put it in a closed box and keep it in a warm place for 1 hour or until it doubles up!

2.Punch down all the air from the dough and make small balls from it.

3. Take one ball and try to make shapes with your hand . Don’t use any extra flour . You may dust your hand and the surface of the rolling board with flour to work comfortably. Don’t shape too thick .Add some chopped garlic and cilantro on the surface of the naan . Press some sesame seeds over them . After shaping , cover them with a wet cheese cloth for 15 minutes to rise up a bit .

4.Heat the Tawa as hot as possible and place the naan there. .. It may take 1/ 2 minutes to get one side done..Flip it over and cook the other side.The flame should be at medium high.

5. After removing from tawa rub the hot naan with butter.That would make your naan softer and also keep them softer for a longer time .

Tips:

1. You can make naan in oven too at 400 Fahrenheit . But to tell you honestly , naans made on stove r softer and tastier if you compare it with oven made naans and stove made naans stay softer for a longer period of time.

2. If you want to keep them softer , cover the warm naan in cheese cloth or foil to keep the moisture for a longer period!!!!!!!!!

3. Always remember too much hot water or milk always kills the yeast . So the water or milk should be luke warm . Neither hot nor cold or room temperature !!!! And salt also kills yeast . But at the same time sugar or honey is the key ingredient to activate yeast . If you don’t have yeast at home you may try using yogurt instead of yeast ! You have to keep the dough for a longer time for fermentation!!!!:)

Gola Kabab/Lola kabab

Gola or Lola kabab, a kind of rolled meat ball , are originated in Kandahar, Afganistan by the Poshtuns ; but it’s incredible softness and melt-in- mouth kind made it so popular , even beyond the boundary of it’s origin . The shape of the kabab resembles to that of the cannons or “gola”s , that is why it is named gola kabab. Gola kababs can be pan fried in a very little oil or can be grilled on charcoal or even baked and broiled in a oven . When grilled on charcoal , the golas of minced meat are put around the skewer , tied around with a thread , because unlike boti or sheekh kabab , only minced meat are used and if they are not tied with thread , the kabab may fall apart . For gola kabab , not only minced meat is used , the meat should be double minced , i.e, the mince meat will be beaten / blended again with spices before they are put on charcoal or pan fried . Many uses binding agent like egg or besan( gram flour) in the recipe, but trust me , you won’t get the authentic taste if you use those binding ingredients . The kababs tend to fall apart and that’s the beauty .

There are some very important notes to be remembered for the perfect gola kabab . I will discuss them at the end of the recipe.

Ingredients:

Ingredients to be mixed with mince:

Minced Beef 2 cups ( 1cup= 250 ml)
Ginger , grated 2 and half tea spoon
Garlic grated 1 tea spoon
Raw papaya , grated 2-3 tbl spoon
Chopped onion 2 tbl spoon
Fried onion ( bereshta) 1/4 th cup
Chopped green chili
Chopped mint 2 tbl spoon
Chopped cilantro 1 tbl spoon
Ghee 1 tbl spoon
Salt t o taste

Other ingredients:

Special Masala
Yogurt 1 tbl spoon
Cinnamon Powder 1/4th tea spoon
Nutmeg Powder 1/4th teaspoon
Charcoal Smoke of one charcoal

Special Masala:

Jeera 1 tea spoon
Whole coriander 1 teaspoon
Black pepper 1 teaspoon
Cloves 5/6
Fennel half teaspoon
All spice/ kabab chini 2/3
Star anise , half of one
Black cardamom, half of one
4/5 green cardamom
Dry red chili 2/ 3
Mace half a teaspoon

Grind them together into a fine powder . We need all , the whole quantity for this recipe . I skipped one spice, which is known as “filfil daraj” or long pepper , since I couldn’t find them in my nearby grocery . If you get them, take only 1 in this masala.

Procedure:

1. Put the minced beef in a food processor or blender with all the ingredients mentioned in “ingredients to be mixed with the mince”. Don’t add any water . beat / blend well .

2. Add 1 tbl spoon of yogurt and special masala in it . Don’t take the water of the yogurt . try to drain out the water from it before adding with the mince .

3. Smoke the mince with charcoal for five minutes . For that lit the charcoal very well , place it in a small bowl and put that small bowl on the mince . Then add ghee to the charcoal to create the smoke . cover the bowl with a lid and smoke the mince for 5 minutes.

4. Shape the kababs And keep it in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours . Don’t put them in the deep chamber. Keeping them in refrigerator for a longer time will help the kababs to get firmer and also the spices will get into very well .

For the grill

5. For Pan frying , take a little oil to fry . At first , fry them on medium low heat for 10 minutes then increase the heat and fry another five minutes . Don’t over fry or else the meat will get tight . Be vary careful while flipping over . Try to flip one by one carefully , otherwise they may fall apart .

You may bake the kababs in oven for 15 minutes at 375 FH and then broil another 5 minutes or until done .

Notes:

1. Don’t wash the mince . So before making the keema or mince , wash your meat well . There should be no water in the mince .

2. I used grated ginger, garlic and papaya to avoid extra water .

3. The kababs tend to fall apart , so fry them gently . Don’t try to turn them over again and again . After taking them out from the oven , take out the skewer carefully , or else u may end up with broken kababs. If you are afraid of broken kababs , you may tie a thread around the kabab before frying and grilling .

Chaana daal Halwa / Cholar daal er halwa/ booter daal er halwa

It’s a very simple recipe with few ingredients . But the flavor and taste depend on your patience . You need to cook the daal in ghee for a longer period of time . The longer you cook , the yummier it is . But you have to stir continuously while cooking and here lies your patience .. Another thing , don’t be miser to put enough ghee, which will be added gradually , not at a time, to ensure a very one of a kind halwa to remember ..

Ingredients:

Chaana daal ( split yellow peas) 1 cup
Ghee 3/4 th cup + 1/2 cup ( this halwa absorbs ghee and oil so fast , so for yummier and glossier version of halwa, you need enough ghee or oil)
Sugar 3/4th cup ( Adjust according to your taste)
Liquid regular milk 2 cups
2 cardamoms
1 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
Dry fruits like raisins and nuts

Procedure:

1. Soak the daal for atleast 7/8 hours to get the best result . Boil the daal with 2 cups of refular full fat milk . Dry up the milk , keeping it little moist . Blend the daal without adding any water or milk .

2. Heat 3/4th cup of ghee in a wide bottomed vessel . Add the cardamom , cinnamon , bay leaf . Add the daal . Fry the daal on medium low flame . Keep Stirring . After a while you will see , the ghee is completely absorbed by the daal . Keep frying the daal. adding ghee little by little . Keep cooking the daal atleast for 20- 30 minutes and time to time ,add ghee little by little. Stir continuously .

3. Add the sugar and keep stirring . You will find after a little while the color is changed and the halwa is coming off from the vessel . add the dry fruits into it .

4. Transfer immediately on a greased plate . Take out the garam masalas from it . Garnish with dry fruits and if you want to cut it like barfis, let it set for hours and then cut in the shape of barfi . You may keep it in the refrigerator to set.

Notes:

1. as I said earlier , this halwa needs to be cooked in ghee for a long time , the more you cook it in ghee , before adding sugar, the tastier and flavorful it is .

2. This Halwa need more ghee/ oil than other halwas . So use generously but don’t add all at a time . You have to add gradually .

3. If you don’t want to use ghee solely , then you can mix ghee with oil , or you can cook it in oil only, but add 2 tbl spoon of ghee , just before you are turning off the stove . That would make it taste like halwa cooked in ghee .

Chicken Katsu , Japanese Chicken cutlet

This Japanese style chicken cutlet needs very few ingredients , but the taste is so good .

Ingredients:

For Marinade:

Chicken breast , 1
Black pepper 1 tbl spoon
Lemon juice 2 tbl spoon
Salt to taste

Other ingredients:

1 beaten egg
Flour mixed with chili powder to coat the chicken
Breadcrumbs ( preferably Panko, Japanese style breadcrumb)

Oil to fry

Procedure:

1. Flatten the chicken breast with a kitchen hammer or the rolling pin . Prick the breast with fork . Marinate the breast with lemon juice, black pepper and salt .

2. Roll in the flour mixture . Dip in egg and then coat very well with the breadcrumb.

3. Heat oil in a pan and fry the chicken breast on medium low heat . Take enough oil . Fry each side well , so that the center gets well cooked .

Serve hot !!!!!!

Pineapple Choco sponge flan

So many times I baked flan-cake , which is a combo of both flan/ pudding and cake .. The bottom layer is a sponge cake and the upper layer , a smooth creamy flan or pudding . I have almost a similar kind of recipe . For that one you can click the following link;

http://khadizaskitchen.com/2013/01/30/pudding-cake-sponge-cake-on-the-bottom-and-flan-or-cream-caramel-pudding-on-the-top/

But today , I just wanted to play a little . I’ve baked choco flan , pineapple upside down cake or even the pineapple upside down flan . So Why not something , a combo of trio .. Pineapple Upside down choco sponge flan?? I browsed over net like crazy , but couldn’t get one .. So decided to experiment with the name of Almighty Allah ! The outcome is fantastic .. Alhamdulillah .. The pineapple slices went inside the flan , that made it even better . So at the end just decorated with some other slices of pineapple .

Ingredients:

For the caramel sauce:

2 tbl spoon of butter
4 tbl spoon of brown sugar
1/3 rd cup of whipped cream or evaporated milk

For the Sponge cake :
2 egg ( room temperature)
4 tbl spoon of Butter/oil
4 tbl spoon of sugar
2 tbl spoon of All purpose flour ( heaped)
2 tbl spoon of cocoa powder ( heaped)
Less than half a teaspoon baking powder

For The Flan:

2 eggs ( room temperature)
1 cup of evaporated milk or very thick milk
Half a Tin of Condensed Milk

Other ingredients:

Sliced Pineapple ( I took the tinned one)

Procedure:

1. Make the caramel sauce . Melt butter and add brown sugar . Stir . After few minutes add whipped cream or evaporated milk . Remove from the stove , when got thick . Pour over a greased pan . Let it cool . After it gets cool , it will set on the pan . Arrange the pineapple slices over the sauce .

2. Prepare the Flan batter . Whisk egg, condensed milk and evaporated milk with light hand . Remember if you over beat them or blend in the blender , you will never get the smooth texture , rather there is a possibility to end up with small holes in the flan , those perforated type flan. So always beat the egg and other ingredients with light hand and not too much .

3. Now prepare the cake batter . Beat butter/oil, sugar and egg together , until light and fluffy. Sieve flour , baking powder and cocoa together . Now fold the egg mixture with the flour mixture . Your cake batter is ready .

4. Now Pour the flan mixture over the set caramel sauce and pineapple . Then pour the cake batter over the flan mixture . Don’t worry . At the end they both will separate . The cake will sit on the bottom and the flan over it .

5. Take a baking tray and fill it with hot water . Put the pan on it and bake it at 350 FH in a pre-heated oven for 40-50 minutes . After 40 minutes , you can check the flan cake . If you see the cake part is done , but the knife didn’t come out clean from the bottom, that is the flan part , then cover the pan with aluminium foil and again bake for another 10 minutes.

6. After taking out from oven, don’t try to flip over immediately . Let it cool and keep it in the refrigerator for at least 2/ 3 hours . Then Flip over . decorate with sliced pineapple and cherries .

Notes:

1. If you don’t want your sponge cake to be chocolate flavor , then omoi the cocoa , and add 2 tbl spoon more flour to the batter . That is , in case you omit the cocoa , you have to take 4 tbl spoon of flour in total .

2. Let the caramel sauce sit on the pan first , before you pour the flan mixture . So Let the sauce set and cool , then pour the batter .

Whole Stuffed Cauliflower Roast, deep fried version

Cauliflower is undoubtedly my favorite veggie . Any preparation goes so well with it . Among those , I love , whole stuffed cauliflower the most . This is my family recipe , more specifically mom and Aunt special .In my family ,no occasion , no feast in winter is complete without it . There are at least 4 different version of it , like sometimes the cauliflower is covered with mashed potato and then fried or baked , sometimes it is coated in a batter and fried till crispy . Sometimes it’s just pressure-cooked without any coating . Sometimes cooked in gravy .Among them I love the crispy battered deep fried one the most .

Ingredients:

1 small cauliflower
1 heaped teaspoon of ginger
1 heaped teaspoon of garlic
Salt to taste

For Batter :

All purpose flour / maida 1 and 1/4th cup ( 1cup+1/4th cup)
Baking powder less than half a teaspoon
Baking soda 1/4th teaspoon
Chili Powder 1 teaspoon
Chilled water little less than 1 and 1/4th cup
Salt to taste

Stuffing:

You can take anything for stuffing . My mom , most of the time used to take beef keema for the stuffing . But she even used chicken and prawn/ shrimp keema for the stuffing . You can use any fish keema too .
I took shredded chicken today .

For the stuffing , if you are taking any keema , then boil it with water , soy sauce , garlic-ginger paste and whole garam masala like cardamom, cinnamon and bayleaf . Dry out the water , now heat oil and add the keema , little salt (if needed), capsicum , lots of sliced onion and green chilies . You may add little oyster sauce, if you want . I didn’t . If you wish you can add little cornstarch mixed in milk and add to the suffing to make it little sticky ..

Procedure:

1. Cut the extra stems of the cauliflower . But don’t cut the main stem . Now boil it in water with ginger-garlic paste and salt .

2. In Bangladesh , the cauliflower florets seem to be separated with each other as it is .There is enough space to stuff the filling in but in USA I found the florets to be so dense , hardly get the space to put the filling easily . So I boiled it like 70% . If you are in Bangladesh , just half boil it .
Now try to stuff the filling inside ,to the spaces around the florets . Do it carefully , don’t break the florets .

3. Make the batter with the ingredients mentioned . Use the baking soda , just before you are ready to fry . Then coat the stuffed cauliflower in the batter and deep fry it on medium low heat until crispy . It took me more than half an hour to fry it both side . While turning over , do it carefully , with at least two spoons .

Notes:

1. Instead of this crispy batter , you can cover it with mashed potato too . For that after covering it with mashed potato ( mashed potato with salt and black pepper), dip in the egg and then coat in breadcrumbs and deep fry or bake . But I always found it difficult and not worth deep frying it while covered with mashed potato . It gets soggy so soon . So if I cover it with mashed potato , I bake it in a pre-heated oven for at least 40 minutes , then broil it another 5/10 minutes .

This is the pic of Whole stuffed cauliflower ,covered with mashed potato .

2. Please be very careful , while frying and specially , when you turn it over .

3. While making the batter , add the baking soda , just before you are ready to fry . Because , otherwise , baking soda will not work as expected . Don’t omit baking soda as it make the battered thing crispy . So use baking soda and baking powder both ,just in the quantity mentioned .

Komolabhog , amazing orange flavored Roshogolla

In a chilly afternoon, like today , while enjoying a sweet orange , an idea just crossed my mind and I literally jumped off my couch , rushed to the kitchen to make a Bengali delicacy , almost forgotten , Komolabhog, an orange flavored,soft roshogolla .

Ingredients :

For making chaana / paneer / cheese for komolabhog :

4 cups of Full cream liquid milk
1/4 th cup of orange juice ( you may need more depending on the quality of milk)

For Syrup :

1 cup sugar
3 cups of water
2 cardamoms
1 small stick of cinnamon
little yellow and orange food color
1 teaspoon orange zest

Other ingredients :

Less than half a teaspoon flour( level)
Yellow food color
Saffron

Procedure :

1. Boil the milk and when it reaches the boiling point , turn off the heat. Add the orange juice and stir . Stop for a while . You will find the milk is curdling . You may need a little more juice to curdle the milk completely . Don’t make any hard chaana . The chaana should be soft . Just the moment the water separates , pour the chaana on a cheese cloth . Wash it with chilled water and squeeze the water well . Making of chaana is very important for roshogolla . If your chaana is hard , eventually your roshogolla will be hard too . Squeeze the water from the channa very well . If your chaana has water , the roshogolla will fall apart in sugar syrap .

2. Start making the sugar syrap with sugar , water , cardamom, cinnamon, food color , saffron and orange zest .

3. Mix a little yellow food color in the chaana .Knead the chaana very well . Knead it with the palm of your hand . Kneading is another vital part of making soft chaana .

4. I kneaded my chaana with my palm for 5-7 minutes . Then I put the chaana in the food processor and pulse it for 1 minute or so . The chaana will be very sticky and will look like that ;

5. Apply some ghee on your hand and shape the roshogolla carefully , so that there must be no crack in it . If the cheese balls are not smooth , or it has any crack in it , the roshogolla will break into pieces in the sugar syrup . Don’t let the roshogolla/ komolabhog or cheese balls sit for a longer time . If you do so , roshogolla will be hard too . So make the balls just before you are putting them into the boiling syrap .

6. Add the cheese balls into the boiling syrup and cover it with a lid . Don’t cover it completely . There must be a little space to let the steam out . Cook for at least 15 minutes . Remove the lid and you will see , the cheese balls doubled up . Cook for another 15 minutes . .

7. Turn off the heat and keep the komolabhog in the syrup at least for 4/5 hours for the best result .

Notes:

1. Making chaana is very important . Plz don’t use vinegar for making the chaana of roshogolla or other sweets like this sort . For komolabhog , I made chaana with orange juice , that made the chaana very flavorful and aromatic . Don’t make hard chaana. Don’t let the chaana on the stove or in the whey for a longer time . Strain the water as soon as the water separates . The softer is your chaana , the softer are the roshogollas or komolabhog .

2. Kneading part , very vital . If you don’t have food processor , you can use your chopper or grinder. If you don’t have any , knead well with your palm for at least 15-20 minutes , until it gets stuck in your hand .

3. The roshogolla/ komolabhog are cooked well in less sugary syrup . So the syrap is one thread syrap . The syrup should be very light . If the syrap is thick from the very beginning, the roshogolla or the komolabhog will never be soft . Because thick syrup doesn’t get into the roshogollas well .

Chicken Bun , oven baked version</p

Childhood memories are connected with so many things !!! So many things to cherish!!!!!! Chicken bun is something that always takes me back to my school life !!! Swiss bakery, being near by to my school, my beloved , Viqarunnisa Noon School , had always been the center point for our after school gathering . No school function is complete without the great Fakruddin baburchi’s lunch menu and without the fast foods of Swiss . Among those fast foods , Chicken bun was my favorite. Their version was deep fried one, that I already tried . Here's the link of my deep fried version of stuffed bun;

http://khadizaskitchen.com/2013/03/08/stuffed-beef-bun/

But many of my friends asked me, whether they can make the baked version of it for the healthier option ! So here you go my friends . This baked version is for all of you !!

Ingredients:

For Bun:

All Purpose flour 2 cups
Active dry instant Yeast 1 teaspoon
Milk powder 1 tbl spoon
Sugar 2 level teaspoon
Salt to taste ( around 1 level teaspoon)
1 beaten egg
Oil 4 tbl spoon
Luke warm liquid milk or water ( enough to make a dough)

For the stuffing:

You can use shredded chicken or chicken mince for it . Shredded chicken will serve the best . Heat oil and add the shredded chicken , chopped onion, green chili, capsicum and salt to your taste . Done with the filling .

If you are using chicken mince , then boil the chicken mince with ginger paste and soy sauce in small quantity of water . Then fry the prepared mince with chopped onion , chilies and capsicum with oil .

Other ingredients:

1 beaten egg for egg wash
sesame seeds (optional)
Butter ( to rub after taking them out from the oven)

Procedure:

1. Mix all the ingredients for bun except oil . Be careful while adding luke warm water or milk. If you use too hot water the yeast might get killed , and if you use room temperature or cold water, the yeast won’t wake up !!!!!! In both case the dough will not rise and everything will go in vain . So always use luke warm water in any recipe where you have yeast as an ingredient.

2. Knead well . The dough will be very sticky . Now add the oil and form the dough into a round ball . Now it’s easier to work with the dough. Knead very well . The more you knead, the softer bun you get . Put the dough into a closed lid box and place it in a warm place . It may take an hour or more to get the dough double in volume . If it becomes fluffy and double in volume , the dough is ready to make the bun.

3. Punch down all the air form the dough . Now Make balls from the dough . Flatten the ball and put some filling into it. Reshape the ball . Make all the buns like this .

4. Now brush with beaten egg and sprinkle some sesame seed , if you want . Cover them with a cling film , plastic wrap or wet cloth for 10 minutes to rise up a little .

5. Now bake them at 400 FH ( 200 centigrade) in a preheated oven for 10-15 minutes . Plz don't over bake them, you may end up with hard buns .
After taking out from the oven , rub some butter immediately for the glossier and softer version .

Notes:

1 . Please don't over bake the buns as they get hard if over baked . It took me around 12 minutes to get done .

2. Be careful about the yeast you use and the temperature of water or milk you are pouring to make the dough . Try not to use too old yeasts . While using warm water or milk , it should be mild warm , not piping hot , as they can kill the yeast . If you use cold or room temperature, that also might not wake the yeast up . Always use luke warm water or milk.

3. Try not to put salt directly over yeast as salt can also kill the bacteria .

Kabab Biriyani with achari keema stuffed peppers

Don’t know about my cooking , but surely I’m one of that kind of person , who can’t sleep properly at night due to too many ideas swarming into head . This recipe is another outcome of my “very fertile brain full of ideas” . well, this idea was banging my brain too hard for couple of days , got peace after making it .

The beauty of this recipe is , it is a combination of individual 3 or 4 recipes , each is awesome their way . We have achari keema , stuffed pepper , kabab and kabab korma recipes in one single preparation . Though sound complex , trust me , it’s an easier one . You can prepare kababs and keema ahead of time and save much of your time .

Ingredients:

For kabab :

Ground beef Half a pound
Ginger paste level 1 teaspoon
Garlic paste half a teaspoon
Fried onion 1/4 th cup
Nutmeg powder 1/4th teaspoon
Cinnamon powder 1/4 th teaspoon
Chili powder 1 teaspoon
Paprika 1 teaspoon
salt to taste
1 beaten egg
Cornstarch , enough to shape the kabab ( It took me almost 1 and half , heaped table spoon of cornstarch)
Special kabab masala ( I’ll mention the masala later part of the recipe), 2 level teaspoon

For the gravy:

Fried Onion 1/3 rd cup
Ginger Paste 1 and half teaspoon
Garlic paste 1 teaspoon
Chili Powder 1 teaspoon
Whole garam masala ( cinnamon, cardamom and bay leaf)
Garam masala 1 tea spoon ( heaped)
Shaan Korma Curry mix half a tea spoon
Coconut milk 1 cup, thick ( If you don’t like coconut milk , use heavy cream or half n half or evaporated milk or very thick milk)
Salt to taste
Oil

For Achari Keema:

Beef mince half a pound
garlic paste level 1 teaspoon
Ginger paste 1 teaspoon
Onion , 1 small , chopped
Turmeric powder little more than 1/4 th tea spoon
Crushed dry chili / chili flakes half a teaspoon
Garam masala powder 1 tea spoon
Desi style pickles 1 teaspoon
Vinegar 1 tea spoon
Chopped green chili
Mustard oil
Achari masala 2 teaspoon ( I’ll mention the masala recipe later part of this recipe)

Kabab Masala/ Garam masala:

4 Dry red chilies
Cumin seed 1 tbl spoon
Coriander seed 1 tbl spoon
Green cardamon 5 or 6
Black pepper 1 tea spoon
Cloves 1 teasppon
2 long pepper
Allspice 1 teaspoon
Fennel 1 teaspoon
Mace 1 teaspoon
Nutmeg half a teaspoon
1 star anise
1 small cinnamon stick ( 1″)

Lightly dry roast the ingredients and crush into a powder .

Achari Masala:

Cumin seed ( jeera) 1 tbl spoon
Coriander seed ( whole dhonia) 1 tbl spoon
Indian 5 Spice ( panch foron) 1 teaspoon
Nigella/ black cumin/ kalojeera half a teaspoon
Fennel/ mouri half a teaspoon
Fenugreek half a teaspoon
Musturd seed half a teaspoon
Turmeric powder half a teaspoon ( optional)

Crush all the ingredients together into a coarse powder ( it must not be fine).

For Biriyani :

Kalojeera/ chinigura or any other aromatic rice 4 cups
Ginger juice from paste , 2 teaspoon
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 black cardamom
1 star anise
2 bay leaves
3 green cardamom
1 small cinnamon stick
Salt to taste
Ghee
Handful of green chilies

Other ingredients:

Long chili/ jalapeno
Charcoal ( optional) , to give smoke to the kababs
Fried onion
Keora water
Saffron , soaked in milk

Procedure:

1. Mix all the ingredients mentioned for kababs and make long kababs . Give the smoke of charcoal for 5 minutes and then keep the kababs in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours . Or you can fry them first and then can give the smoke . I did it after frying . Fry them in a frying pan with enough oil, but shouldn’t be deep fried . Don’t fry them too much , or else the kababs will shrink and will be tough .

2. Heat oil and add the cinnamon, cardamom , bayleaf . Add ginger , garlic paste, chili powder, salt and little water . Cook well , what we callin Bengali “Koshano” adding water little by little . Add Half a cup of water and coconut milk. Add the kababs and cook until the gravy reduced to desired consistency . Take out the kababs from gravy . There will be approximately 1 cup of gravy which will be used in making the rice.

3. Now , make the achari keema . Marinate the keema with all the ingredients, except oil and pickles . Heat oil and add the keema . You will see water releasing from the keema , let it coon on low flame on it’s own water . If needed add enough water to cook it thoroughly . When almost done , and the water is reduced completely add the pickles and chopped green chilies . let it cool .

4 . Slit the green chilies lengthwise and remove all the seeds from them . Stuff them with keema . Shallow fry them on a frying pan . You can bake them too .

5. Heat ghee in a wide bottomed utensil . Add the onion and fry until light brown. Add the rice , 1 cup of gravy from the kabab korma and 5 cups of boiling water . Add cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, black cardamom, star anise , bay leaf , salt and ginger juice . Don’t stir after adding water , or else the rice will be gooey . When the water is reducing add handful of whole green chili , around 10 chilies . When the water is dried out , stir with light hand so that the rice should not break .Put the biriyani in “dom” . I use the double boiler method . Put your biriyani pot over another pot filled with water . The steam will work as dom . Place the stuffed chili over the rice while it’s on “dom” .

6. Before serving take the stuffed chilies off from the biriyani . Sprinkle keora water and add the saffron milk . Layer the biriyani in the serving dish with kababs and stuffed peppers.

Notes:

1. Besides this recipe , you can try stuffed chilies/ peppers in so many ways . You can try stuffed chilies/ pepper with any stuffing, fish , meat or even cheese . You may spread some cheese over it , bake and serve as an appetizer or side dish . You can also make a batter , coat them and deep fry .

2. Achari keema goes great with paratha . Try it with paratha ..

Zafrani Kheer Patishapta !!!!

Patishapta is a thin Swedish pancake or crepe type pitha , very special and adored by the Bengalis!! No special occasion is complete without it … there can be many variation , sometimes prepared coconut with molasses is used for the stuffing , and sometimes the kheer or the kheersha is used . There is savory version of patishapta too . Vegetables, meat or even cooked noodles is used as the stuffing .
My version , is my special, it is saffron flavored kheer with generous amount of dry nuts and raisins . My friend and family love it so much , hope , you will love it too InshaAllah!!!!!

Ingredients :

For the batter:

All purpose flour / maida 1/2 cup ( Half cup)
Rice flour 1/4 th cup ( one-fourth cup)
Semolina/sooji 2 tbl spoon
Liquid milk ( room temperature) 1 cup + 2 tbl spoon ( 1 cup= 250 ml)
Liquid Molasses/ date palm jaggery/ jhola khejur gur 1/4 th cup
salt

For the Stuffing:

Very thick milk 1 and half cup ( I took 1 cup of evaporated milk and half cup of regular liquid milk)
Rice flour 2 level tbl spoon
2 cardamoms , 1 small stick of cinnamon
Saffron, soaked in milk
Sugar to taste
Coarsely chopped dried nuts , pista, almond , walnut and raisins

Procedure:

1. Make a thin batter with the ingredients mentioned for batter . The batter should not be too runny or too thick . A little thinner than the medium thickness . The batter should be free-flowing . Cover and keep it aside for at least 1 and half hours . The longer you put the batter to rest , the more perforated pitha or pancake it will be ..

2. Make the stuffing . Take some of the milk and mix rice flour with it .Boil the rest of the milk with cardamom, cinnamon . Soak saffron in another small bowl in milk and add it to the milk . I used few drops of food colors too . Add the sugar and the milk mixed with rice flour . Keep stirring , or else the bottom would be burnt . Soon the milk will thicken . Make a hard kheer of it . Cool down and mix the chopped nuts and raisins with it . Don’t chop the nuts finely . Better if you can keep some of them whole so that you can enjoy in every bite .You may sprinkle rose water in the kheer before turning off the stove .

3. Now heat the non stick pan on medium low flame and rub with little oil with a cloth . Take a small ladle and put some batter on the pan . Swirl the pan to cover or coat most of it . Cover the pan . It will take not more than 45 seconds to set.

4. Now put some stuffing or filling lengthwise nearer to the edge , not in the center and keep folding .

Ready !!!!!!!

Notes:

1. Don’t forget to rub the pan with oil , every time you put the batter to make pitha.

2. I don’t want my batter to be too sweet , as the stuffing will be sweet too . Those who like sweetness more may add little sugar to the batter too.

3. You can make the stuffing by cooking evaporated and condensed milk together . Make a thick creamy kheer by doing this and use as your stuffing.

6. Please chop the nuts for stuffing coarsely . Don’t chop the nuts finely . Better if you can keep some of them whole so that you can enjoy in every bite

Empanada !!!! Melt in mouth version!!!!

The very first time I saw and had Empanada , I was quite amused to see the shape as they pretty much resembles to our very own jhaal samosa .
It is a stuffed pastry folded in some particular pattern .The origin of the Empanada trace back to Portugal . There is a Filipino version of empnada too , believed to be carried to south America and South- East Asia by Portuguese during the time of colonization!! But besides, i think ,similar type of stuffed pastry is found in almost every part of the world . May be with slight changes in ingredients and process . Like in central Asia , the similar type of pastry is called “shakerbura” , a sweet stuffed pastry , traditionally prepared in “Nowrose” or Persian new year . The Arabic version is sambosa , “Bolani” is in Afganistan . And the examples can go on .

Empanada can be deep fried or can be baked !!!! I’m always in love with those melt in mouth type baked Latino empanadas!!!! The filling or stuffing can be of chicken or beef or even cheese .

Ingredients:

For the dough :

1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 rd cup of very cold butter , cut in cubes
Half of a beaten egg ( save the rest for the egg wash)
Half a teaspoon sugar
White vinegar 1 tea spoon
2 tbl spoon of Chilled regular liquid milk
salt to taste

For the filling:

Heat butter or oil , and add the shredded chicken with thinly sliced onions , bell peppers, salt and green chilies . Fry until the onions are half done . You may add the cheese in the filling when cools down . You can use the filling just like this or if you don’t want your filling dry , just a few minutes before you r turning of the stove , mix cornstarch in milk and add in the fillings , keep cooking until got thick .

Procedure :

1. Beat an egg with 2 tbl spoon of milk .

2. Mix flour with salt and sugar . Add the cubed butter and mix well using your hand until you get the breadcrumb like texture . now add the half of the egg ( save remaining half for the egg wash)and vinegar . Mix until forms a dough . It will be soft dough . You don’t have to knead . Just mix until everything comes together .

3. Now make a ball out of the dough and wrap the ball with a plastic or clingfilm and put it in the refrigerator for an hour .

4. Roll the ball on a lightly surfaced counter top into a medium thick sheet . Must not ne too thin or too thick . Now Cut the sheet into small round disks with biscuit cutter anything round like glass , small plates , molds .

5. Place the filling on each disk and seal the edges . Bake immediately or keep them in the refrigerator until you bake them . It’s better to keep them in the fridge before baking . Plz keep them in the deep chamber for the better result .

There are some shapes of Empanadas.

6. Before baking brush them with remaining beaten egg for a nice color . Bake them at 375 FH in a preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown .

Traditional Christmas Fruit cake ( without alcohol )

Traditional Christmas fruit cake is a cake made with chopped dried nuts and dried and candied fruits soaked in spirits/ alchohol, spiced with various spices, solid and little chewy in texture unlike other butter or pound cake , that has long shelf life and tastes better by the time . That is, it will taste better the next days other than the day it is made !!!!
Christmas Fruit cake is a delicate cake and needs special treatment in making it . I will discuss the important notes at the end of the recipe . Please don’t skip out . Alcohol being prohibited in my religion , substituted it with fruit juice and ingredients like treacle and cake spice are home made, which you can easily get in your pantry . I made my cake spice and the treacle with little improvisation that made the cake taste even better !!!!

The batter for this type of cake is not like regular cake batter . You can’t pour the batter . You have to spoon the batter in the cake pan . The cake is solid in texture and if your batter is not heavy for the dried fruits , they will sink on the bottom .

The temperature being another important factor . You have to bake the cake at low temperature like 325 FH so that the fruits inside should not taste bitter . I am going to discus all these important matters at the end of the recipe ! Please carefully go through those notes .

Ingredients:

*I took the cup for measurement , where 1 cup= 250 ml *

3 Eggs, room temperature
3/4th cup softened butter
3/4 th cup of brown sugar ( you can substitute it with ground jaggery/ akher gur)
2 tbl spoon of treacle ( see the recipe below)
1 tbl spoon of Golden syrup/ corn syrup or substitute can be honey
1 and half cup of all purpose flour + 2 tbl spoon
2 tbl spoon of powder milk
1 tbl spoon of lemon/ orange zest
Baking powder half a teaspoon
Baking soda 1/4 th teaspoon
Cake spice 1 teaspoon ( see the recipe below)
Ginger Powder 1/4 th teaspoon ( optional)
Vanilla essence half a teaspoon
Dried nuts ( almond , pistachio , walnuts ) , candied fruits ( pineapple, cherries), black currant , raisins= 1 cup
Orange juice to soak the dried fruits

Cake Spice :

Nutmeg powder 1/4 th teaspoon
Clove Powder 1/4 th teaspoon
Cinnamon powder 1/4 th teaspoon
Green cardamom powder 1/4 th tea spoon

Mix them together and your cake spice is ready .

Treacle/ caramel syrup:

2 tbl spoon of sugar
2 tbl spoon + 1/4 th cup of water
1 tbl spoon molasses/ date palm molasses ( khejur gur)

Make caramel with 2 tbl spoon of sugar and 2 tbl spoon of water . When the sugar gets dark red ,add 1/4 th cup pf water .. stir and add 1 tbl spoon of molasses , cook until gets little thick . Cool it down . That’s my improvisation and trust me it tastes better!!!!! But before you use in the cake batter cool it down .

Procedure:

1. Soak the dried fruits , raisins , cherries and black currants in orange juice for at least 3/ 4 hours . Drain out the juice .

2. Pre-heat the oven to 325 FH for at least 20 minutes . Grease and line the cake pan with parchment or butter paper .

3. Sieve the flour along with baking powder, baking soda and mix the dry ingredients like orange zest , cake spice and powder milk with it . Take one fourth cup of flour from it and coat the dried nuts and candied and dried fruits with it . Now mix them with the remaining flour . It will help the fruits not to sink on the bottom .

4. Beat brown sugar and butter together until light , creamy and fluffy . Add egg , one at a time and beat well . Now add the treacle and beat . Add the vanilla essence .

5. Add flour mixture to the egg mixture , in three batches , don’t add the flour all at a time . Fold it with light hand in clock wise motion with a spatula . Over mixing can ruin your cake . Add the honey or golden syrup in it . The batter will not be of pouring consistency . Unlike other cake batter , this batter is heavy . You have to spoon the batter in the cake pan . It will look like this ;

6. Spoon the batter in the cake pan and bake immediately at 325 fh in a preheated oven for 1 hour . After 1 hour check inserting the knife . If the center doesn’t come clean bake for another 20 minutes or depending how clean the knife came . It may take little longer . Sometimes it takes me like 1 and half hour and sometimes it gets done in 1 hour and some extra few minutes . But careful don’t over bake the cake !!!!!!

Notes:

1. The batter for this type of cake is not like regular cake batter . You can’t pour the batter . You have to spoon the batter in the cake pan . The cake is solid in texture and if your batter is not heavy for the dried fruits , they will sink on the bottom .

2. The temperature being another important factor . You have to bake the cake at low temperature like 325 FH so that the fruits inside should not taste bitter .

3. While baking , it may happen that the top of the cake gets colored soon . In that case cover the pan with an aluminium foil to prevent burning on the top . But don’t do so until the rising is complete .

Borhani!!!!!!!!

So many times , I tried to make perfect borhani , the biye bari style ( the one served in wedding parties in Bangladesh) with all those readymade borhani mix ! And everytime got so disapointed . Then gave up those readymade borhani mix and experimented with the ingredients !!!! Alhamdulillah the experiment turned out to be a successful one .

Ingredients:

I Used the cup , where 1 cup = 250 ml

Plain Yogurt 2 cups
Sweet Yogurt ( mishti doi) 1 cup
Water 1 cup
Mint chopped 1/3rd cup ( make a paste of this 1/3 rd cup mint with green chilies)
Green chilies 5/6, medium sized ( according to your taste)
White pepper powder ( shada golmorich gura), 3/4th teaspoon
Rock salt/ black salt / bit lobon, 1 teaspoon ( level)
Chaat Masala , plz don’t use store bought one , follow my one ( Dry roast 1 red chili , 1 and half tea spoon cumin seed , 1 tea spoon pachforon/ Indian five spice together and grind them into a fine powder , apply all)
Salt to taste
Sugar , if needed

Procedure :

Blend everything together and your Borhani is ready ..

Notes:

1. While dry roasting dry chili , jeera and pachforon , don’t over fry them , that would make the borhani taste bitter . So better dry roast the cumin separately . Pachforon shouldn’t be over fried . On the other hand the cumin or jeera should be well dry roasted .

2. While dry roasting the dry chili don’t let it get too dark . It should remain red .

Meatball stuffed Potato ball

Well , this recipe is another production of my ” too many idea filled brain” !!! Can be a very good side dish or snack !!!! Great in Kid’s lunch pack too !!!!!

Ingredients:

For meatball:

1. Grounded beef 350 gram ( raw)
2. Ginger-garlic paste 1 teaspoon
3. Soy sauce 1 teaspoon.
3. 1 beaten egg.
4. Cornstarch : enough to be able to shape the meatballs.
5. Salt to taste
6. Chopped green chilies, cilantro, mint
7. A pinch of garam masala powder.

For potato balls:

1. 3 large potato , boiled
2. Frid onion , 1/4th cup
3. Chopped mint and green chilies
4. Salt to taste

For coating :

1. One beaten egg
2. Bread crumbs and rice flour ( half n half )

Other ingredients:

Oil , enough to deep fry

Cooking Method:

1. Combine all the ingredients of meatball together and make small balls out of them .

2. Mash potato and mix with the ingredients mentioned for potato ball .

3. Take some mashed potato and put one meatball inside it . Reshape into a ball .

4. Dip in beaten egg and coat with breadcrumb-rice flour mixture.

5. Deep fry on medium-low heat . Don’t turn over until the other side is reddish brown . Fry both side well . Ready !!!!!

Notes:

1. You don’t need to fry the meatballs before . Just use them raw inside the potato balls and they will be cooked too with the potato .

2. Don’t try to turn over the other side while frying , you may end up with broken potato balls . Have patience and fry each side minimum 5/6 minutes before you turn over . Let it get that brown color before u turn over .

3. If you want to cut the potato balls after frying , let tit cool first , then cut .Or else you may ruin the potato balls ..

Dudhkodu/ Dudh lau / Bottole gourd kheer

Bottle gourd Kheer or Dudh kodu is one of my very favorite dessert since childhood . My grandma was super expert in making this dessert . The creamy texture of the kheer and the taste , out of the world!!!!!!!!!!!

Ingredients:

Grated Bottole gourd 2 cups ( try to grate as fine as possible)
Milk, thick , 4 cups ( I took 3 cups of regular milk + 1 cup evaporated milk)
Condensed milk ( Half tin)
Sugar to taste
Mawa/ khoya 1/4 th cup ( I made the mawa with powder milk , will discuss at the notes)
3 cardamom pods , 1 small stick of cinnamon
Ghee 2 tbl spoon
Chopped nuts and raisins
Rose water

Procedure:

1. Steam the grated bottle gourd for couple of minutes . Don’t ever boil . Now squeeze out the extra water as water will release after steaming .

2. Heat 2 tbl spoon ghee in a pan and fry the bottle gourd for a while . Don’t use too much ghee or don’t over fry . It’s just because to get rid of the raw smell of the bottle gourd .

3. Boil the milk with cardamom, cinnamon in a large heavy bottomed pan . Reduce it until little thick . Add the condensed milk and sugar . Stir continuously .

4. Add the bottle gourd .Don’t stop stirring or else the bottom may get burnt . When the milk consistency get thicker add the mawa . Cook another few minutes until creamy . You may add the chopped nuts and raisins at this point .

5. Sprinkle some rose water . Serve in a beautiful bowl . Garnish it with chopped nuts and dried fruits . Doodh kodu tastes better chilled .

Notes:

1. Those who doesn’t have evaporated milk , then thicken the milk with powder milk or you can take more milk and reduce it to thicker milk .

2. I made mawa with powder milk . Just put 1 teaspoon of ghee in 1/4th cup of powder milk and mix . It will look like breadcrumbs.

Chicken fried rice

Ingredients :

3 cups Cooked rice , preferably aromatic rice like kalojeera/ chinigura or basmati ( must be 70% cooked)
Chicken 250 gram, cut in thin strips
Ginger Paste 1 tbl spoon
Light Soy Sauce 2 tbl spoon
Fish sauce half teaspoon
Salt to taste
2 eggs, beaten
Chopped veggies
1 small onion, sliced
4/5 green chilies chopped
Tasting salt/ ajino moto 3/4th teaspoon
Sugar , half teaspoon ( optional)
Sesame or any vegetable oil

Procedure:

1. Cook rice , drain out the starch and let it cool . Don’t cook the rice fully or over cook it . It should be 70-80% done .

2. Marinate the chicken with soy sauce and fish sauce .

3.. In a wok , add little oil and make a big omelette with the beaten eggs . Don’t forget to add little salt in the beaten egg . Cut the omelette in strips .

4. In the same wok add oil and put the ginger paste . Fry for a minute and then add the chicken with the marinade . Fry well . The chicken will be done in few minutes . add the chopped veggies , onion and green chilies . Fry well.

5. Add the rice . Add salt, sugar and ajinomoto . Don’t add too much salt as the sauces contain salt too . Fold with the omelette cut in strips.
Fry well .

Ready !!!!!

Notes:

1. You can do this with your leftover rice too . If you have time, for better result ,cook the rice and when cool , put it in the fridge , in normal chamber . Use 4/5 hours later for fried rice .

2. You can use the shredded chicken too . In that case , after frying the ginger paste , add the chicken , then add soy and fish sauce .

3. You can use shrimp too . For that add shrimp after your chicken is fried well . If you cook shrimp for a longer time , it gets hard . You can substitute shrimp for chicken too .

Ingredient:

Beef 500 gram
Fresh ginger Paste 2 table spoon/ or freshly fine grated ginger 2 tbl spoon
Light soy sauce 4 tbl spoon- 5 tbl spoon ( start with four tbl spoon, at the end if you think u need more , add some)
White Vinegar 1 and half teaspoon
Crushed black pepper 2 teaspoon
Cubed onion
Green chilies, splitted
Sesame oil ( you can substitute sesame oil for regular vegetable oil too)
Tasting salt a little more than half tea spoon
Sugar a little more than half teaspoon
Corn starch mixed in water

Procedure:

1. Cut the meat into thin slices. Marinate them with ginger paste, light soy sauce, vinegar, crushed black pepper, tasting salt ( since the sauces contains salt, it is better not to use extra salt, if needed you may always adjust it by adding at the end of your cooking)for minimum 2 hours. The longer, the better.

2. Heat oil, in a wok. Add the beef with marinade. Cook it on medium flame until the water is almost dried out. Add little water to make the beef a little more tender.

3. When the meat is done and water is drying out add little cornflour mixed in water, cubed onion, split green chili. .To sharpen the taste add some sugar.

Shrimp Mushroom, Oriental style

Ingredients:

10-12 Shrimp
1 egg white
Cornstarch
Salt to taste

For Gravy:

Garlic paste 1 and half teaspoon
Soy sauce 2 tbl spoon
Oyster sauce 2 tea spoon
Fish sauce , few drops
Tasing salt/ ajinimoto half teaspoon
Sugar a pinch
Ginger juice from ginger paste 1 and half tea spoon
Cubed Onion
Split green chilis
Shitakee Mushroom / or any other mushroom
Bell pepper
Sesame or any other vegetable oil
Cornstarch mixed in water

Procedure:

1. Coat the shrimps with egg white, salt and enough cornstarch . Deep fry them on high heat . It is tasty this way too . Can be a great snack or appetizer .

2. Heat oil and add the garlic paste . After frying a while add the soy sauce , oyster sauce , few drops of fish sauce . Don’t add any salt , as the sauces contain enough salt .Add the mushroom and bell peppers .add the shrimp and little water . Add cornstarch , cubed onion and green chilis. Add tasting salt and sugar .

3. Just before turning off the stove add the ginger juice . Ready !!!!!!

Notes:

1 If you are using dry Shitakee mushroom , soak them in hot water for 10 minutes, before u use .

Sweet Sheermal/ Morobba Ruti/fruit bun

For a long while , I was craving for morobba ruti so badly . The memories of Shab-e-Barat ( a holy night , celebrated by the Muslim) are so immensely connected with this special type of bread . Wanted to experiment a bit and alhamdulillah , came out just perfect . Soft and flavorful . I added some extra steps to make it more delightful , like glazing the bread with rose flavored sugar syrup . Trust me , this step made it more flavorful .

Ingredients:

For the dough:

All Purpose flour 2 cups + 1/4 th cup
Active dry instant Yeast 1 and half teaspoon
Milk powder 2 tbl spoon
Sugar 3 level teaspoon
Salt to taste ( around 1 level teaspoon)
1 beaten egg
Oil 4 tbl spoon + 1 tbl spoon butter ( softened)
Luke warm liquid milk ( enough to make a dough)

Other ingredients:

Candied fruits/ morobba and raisins
1 beaten egg for egg wash
Butter ( to rub after taking them out from the oven)

For the Syrup:

Half cup Sugar
Half cup water
Rose essence/ rose water

Procedure:

1. Make a medium thick sugar syrup with half cup sugar and half cup water . Add some rose water in it . Let it cool . The syrup should not be runny or too much thick . It should be medium thick . To prevent crystallization , add few drops of lemon juice while cooking it .

2. Mix all the ingredients for bun and 1 tbl spoon butter except oil . Be careful while adding luke warm milk. If you use too hot water the yeast might get killed , and if you use room temperature or cold water, the yeast won’t wake up !!!!!! In both case the dough will not rise and everything will go in vain . So always use luke warm water in any recipe where you have yeast as an ingredient.

3. Knead well . The dough will be very sticky . Now add the oil and form the dough into a round ball . Now it’s easier to work with the dough. Knead very well . The more you knead, the softer bun you get . Knead at least 8-10 minutes . Put the dough into a closed lid box and place it in a warm place . It may take an hour or more to get the dough double in volume . If it becomes fluffy and double in volume , the dough is ready to make the bun.

4. Punch down all the air form the dough . Now Make two big balls from the dough . Flatten the ball and put some candied fruits and raisins into it. Reshape the ball . Add some morobba/ candied fruits and raisins on the top of the ball too .

5. Cover them with a cling film , plastic wrap or wet cloth for 15-20 minutes more to rise up a little . In the mean time preheat the oven at 400 FH . Brush the buns with egg .

6. Now bake them at 400 FH ( 200 centigrade) in a preheated oven for 15-20 minutes . It took me 20 minutes. Plz don’t over bake them, you may end up with hard buns .
After taking out from the oven , rub some butter immediately for the glossier and softer version . Pour the room temperature syrup over this hot bun and rub well . Remember the syrup should be of room temperature and the bun should be very hot .

After taking out from oven and rubbing some melted butter:

The finishing touch ; glazed with rose flavored sugar syrup

Notes:

1 . Please don’t over bake the buns as they get hard if over baked . It took me around 12 minutes to get done .

2. Be careful about the yeast you use and the temperature of water or milk you are pouring to make the dough . Try not to use too old yeasts . While using warm water or milk , it should be mild warm , not piping hot , as they can kill the yeast . If you use cold or room temperature, that also might not wake the yeast up . Always use luke warm water or milk.

3. Try not to put salt directly over yeast as salt can also kill the bacteria .

4. The syrup should be of room temperature when applied and the bun should be very hot . The syrup must be thick but not too thick or too thin .