CHOCOLATE LADOO RECIPE : DIWALI SPECIAL

Chocolate ladoo recipe is instant mouth watering ladoo recipe, always hit in kids parties and festive occasions. Chocolate ladoos can be made in a jiffy when you need a quick dessert.

Diwali is a festival which is celebrated all over India and abroad. Celebrate this Diwali in a unique way with a different variety of dessert every day. People are very happy to celebrate Diwali as all the family members gather at one place and enjoy eating tasty food, especially sweets. Even at our home, we prepare minimum 3 sweets per day.  Try out our healthy, tasty and rich in fiber “Chocolate Laddu Recipe by Maya Foods” at home for your family and enjoy a safe Diwali. Making traditional ladoos take lots of time and cooking effort. But in today’s busy world we always like to make things quick, easy and still don’t want to compromise on the taste. This is when this instant chocolate ladoo recipe comes handy. These chocolate ladoos are different from traditional ladoos as they do not require any cooking or baking.

Ingredients

• 2 cups nuts (1 cup almonds, 1 cup walnuts)
• 1 Cup Maida
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon powder
• 2 cups pitted dates
• 2 tablespoons Grade B maple syrup
• Dried shredded coconut to roll the balls in (I like the very fine shred)

Method of Preparation:

1. Grind nuts in food processor until they have a flour-like consistency. Add the cocoa, maida and cinnamon powder to make as chocolaty as you like- I like chocolate- Add the dates and the maple syrup.
2. Blend together in the food processor, adding more dates until you get a “breakable” dough, which can hold form. Form into walnut sized balls in your hands. Roll and gently press the balls in the coconut.

Additional Notes

Store in fridge for up to 4 days (or freeze some)

Special Diet

Special Diet Vegan, Vegetarian, Indian Dessert, Festival Special

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SPICY TOMATO TORTILLA RECIPE BY MAYA FOODS

This Mexican vegetarian dish is high in fiber and easy recipe to make your own tomato-flavored tortillas or wraps. These tortillas are perfect for tacos, wraps or quesadillas. You can also use a sun-dried tomato paste for an extra burst of tomato flavor.

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Ingredients for Tomato Tortilla Recipe

• Tomato Puree 1 cup
• Whole Wheat Flour 1 1/2 cups
• Refined flour (maida) 1 cup
• Sugar 1/2 teaspoon
• Yeast 1/4 teaspoon
• Salt 3/4 teaspoon

Method

• Take sugar and yeast in a bowl. Add two tablespoons warm water and set aside till the mixture begins to froth.
• Mix together whole wheat flour, refined flour, and salt in a bowl. Transfer this mixture into the dough maker.
• Add tomato puree and start the machine. Add the yeast mixture and work the machine till a soft dough is formed.
• Rest the dough for fifteen minutes Divide the dough into lemon sized portions and rest for five more minutes.
• Roll into rotis. Heat a tawa and roast the rotis till both the sides are evenly cooked.
• Use as required.

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CHANA MASALA RECEIPE BY MAYA FOODS

Chana masala, also known as channay or chole masala or chole or hholay, is a dish from the Indian subcontinent; notable in Indian Restaurant cuisine. The main ingredient is a variety of chickpea called chana or kala chana. Basically, it’s a Punjabi cuisine which is popular in all over India.

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Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 to 3 garlic cloves, minced (Garlic Paste)
• Two 15- to 16-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 to 2 teaspoons garam masala or good-quality curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 2 teaspoons grated fresh or jarred ginger
• 2 large tomatoes, diced
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro, or to taste
• Salt to taste
• Hot cooked grain (rice, quinoa, or couscous), optional

Preparation

• Heat the oil in a wide skillet. Add the onion and sauté until translucent. Add the garlic and continue to sauté until the onion is golden.
• Add the chickpeas, garam masala, turmeric, ginger, tomatoes, lemon juice, and about 1/4 cup water. Bring to a simmer, then cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. This should be moist and stew-like, but not soupy; add a little more water, if needed.
• Stir in the cilantro and season with salt. Serve on its own in shallow bowls or over a hot cooked grain, if desired.

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COUNTRY CAPTAIN CHICKEN RECIPE BY MAYAFOODS

Country Captain is a curried chicken and rice dish, which is popular in the Southern United States. It was introduced to the U.S. through Charleston, Savannah, New York and Philadelphia, but has origins in India.

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INGREDIENTS

COUNTRY CAPTAIN

• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp. bacon fat
• 1 whole chicken (cut into 10 pieces: wings, legs, thighs, and quarter breasts), patted dry with paper towels and seasoned with coarse salt and ground black pepper
• 2 cups diced yellow onion
• 2 cups diced celery
• 2 cups diced green bell pepper
• 1 fresh hot chili powder, seeded and minced
• 1 tsp. garlic paste 
• Homemade curry powder (recipe below)
• 2 cups good-quality canned tomatoes, chopped 1 cup tomato juice (reserved from can)
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 cup seedless raisins

HOMEMADE CURRY POWDER

• 1 tbsp. ground ginger
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 2 tsp. ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 2 tsp. Hungarian paprika
• 2 tsp. freshly ground coriander
• 2 tsp. freshly ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground clove
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 pinch Colman’s mustard powder
• 1 pinch dried thyme

PREPARATION

• Place large ovenproof braiser 
or oval Dutch oven (in which the chicken fits in a single layer) over moderate heat, and melt butter and bacon fat until slightly foaming about 3 to 5 minutes. Raise heat, add chicken, and brown well on all sides. Remove crisped pieces to a platter, continuing until all pieces are golden brown.

• Lower heat to moderate and add the onion, celery, peppers, and garlic, using a wooden spoon to stir well.

• Slowly add curry powder, stirring well to evenly coat all the vegetables, and cook until they are tender, stirring frequently about 7 to 10 minutes.

• Add tomatoes, tomato juice, stock, and bay leaves, 
and stir well, scraping the bottom of the pot to loosen any browned bits.

• Bring liquid to simmer, return chicken to pot, and cover tightly.

• Cook on top of the stove over a low flame until chicken is cooked through, about 35 to 45 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

• To serve: Transfer chicken to beds of rice in shallow bowls, sprinkle with raisins and serve surrounded by condiments 
like grated toasted fresh coconut, thinly sliced scallions, crushed roasted peanuts or almonds, green tomato or apple chutney, pickled hot peppers, or pickled okra.

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MODAK RECIPE – GANESH CHATURTHI SPECIAL

Sweet flour dumplings stuffed with coconut, jaggery, nutmeg, and saffron. Steamed to perfection. A famous Indian dessert consumed highly during the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi. Modak is an Indian sweet dumpling popular in many parts of India. The sweet filling on the inside of a modak consists of freshly grated coconut & jaggery while the outer soft shell is made from rice flour or wheat flour mixed with khava or maida flour. The modak can be fried or steamed. The steamed version (called ukdiche modak) is often eaten hot with ghee.

Its a True Taste of East

Ingredients

For the stuffing

• 1 bowl grated coconut
• 1/2 bowl sugar
• 1/2 bowl jaggery
• Dry fruits (almonds, raisins, pistachio, cashews) as per your choice
• 2 to 3 tsp pure ghee
• A pinch of Kesar, cardamom and nutmeg powder
• 1 tsp poppy seeds (khas khas)
• 2 tsp mawa (optional)

For the cover

• 2 bowls rice flour
• A pinch of salt
• 2 tsp of oil or ghee
• Hot water as per requirement

Method of Preparation

For the stuffing

• Heat ghee in a pan. Add poppy seeds and saute for a minute.
• Add grated coconut, sugar, jaggery (broken into small pieces or grated), cardamom and nutmeg powder and all dry fruits. Mix thoroughly.
• Cook till all moisture from the sugar and jaggery begins to dry.
• It takes about 10 to 15 minutes for the mixture to dry on low flame.
• Do not overcook as it will harden up and lose its taste.
• Stir every 2 to 3 minutes till it turns golden yellow.
• You can add more ghee if the stuffing becomes too dry.

For the cover

• Boil water.
• Add a pinch of salt and 1 tsp of ghee to the flour and mix it thoroughly.
• Add 1 tsp of ghee in the boiling water.
• Add the dough to the boiling water. Lower heat. Mix well.
• Cover the vessel keep it for 5 minutes on low flame to let the rice cook.
• Knead the dough into a smooth paste without lumps.
• You need to knead it while it is still hot. You may apply some oil or ghee on your palms.
• If you feel the dough looks dry and hard, add some hot water and continue to knead till the dough turns smooth.

Making the Modaks

• Apply a pinch of oil/ghee on your palms and make small balls of the dough.
• Flatten it to give it the shape of a Katori or cone.
• Press the edges of the Katori-shaped dough with slight pressure at every 1-inch distance.
• The edges of the Katori will now look like the petals of the flower.
• Put some stuffing in the Katori and close the ends to give them a shape like fresh figs or momos.
• Take a leaf of banana or a soft cloth like muslin, and apply bit oil/ghee on it and place it in the steamer pan.
• Place all the modaks on the leaf or cloth and close the lid.
• Steam it for 5 to 6 minutes and turn off the flame.
• Your delicious modaks are ready to be served.

Tip: Do not over steam the modaks, else they will become hard.

For Fried Modaks

• Instead of steaming the stuffed modaks, heat oil in the frying pan and deep fry the modaks on low or medium flame till they turn golden brown from all sides.

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TRICOLOR PULAV RECIPE – INDEPENDENCE SPECIAL

On the special occasion of Independence Day let’s make this delicious and nutritious Tri color rice preparation. To make three different color layers, we have used spinach to give green color, coconut milk to make white layer rice, and tomatoes to make a saffron layer of Tri color rice. Hope you enjoy this delicious dish.

Wish you all a very Happy Independence Day !

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Ingredients

For The Orange Rice

• 1 1/4 cups cooked Basmati Rice
• 3/4 cup roughly chopped tomatoes
• 1 tsp tomato and onion chutney
• 1/2 tbsp Ghee
• 1/4 cup chopped onions
• 1/2 cup grated carrot
• 1 tsp finely chopped green chillies
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• Salt to taste

For The White Rice

• 1 1/4 cups cooked Basmati Rice
• 1/2 tbsp Ghee
• 1/2 tsp caraway seeds (shahjeera)
• 1 tsp finely chopped green chillies
• 1/4 cup chopped paneer (cottage cheese)
• Salt to taste

For The Green Rice

• 1 1/4 cups cooked Basmati Rice
• 1/2 tbsp Ghee
• 1/4 cup chopped onions
• 1/4 cup boiled green peas
• Salt to taste

To Be Ground Into A Smooth Green Paste (using A Little Water)

• 1/2 cup chopped coriander (dhania)
• 2 green chillies , roughly chopped
• 2 garlic (lehsun) cloves
• 25 ginger (adrak)
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice

Other Ingredients

• 2 tsp oil for greasing
• 2 tbsp milk
• Saffron for serve

Method:

For the Orange Rice

1. Combine the tomatoes and 2 tbsp of water in a deep non-stick kadhai and cook on a medium flame for 5 to 7 minutes or till the tomatoes are soft. Keep aside to cool slightly.
2. Blend the tomatoes in a blender to a smooth pulp and then strain it using a strainer. Keep aside.
3. Heat the ghee in a broad non-stick pan, add the onions and sauté on a medium flame for 1 minute.
4. Add the carrots and sauté on a medium flame for 1 more minute.
5. Add the prepared tomato pulp, green chilies, sugar, and salt, mix well and cook on a medium flame for 2 minutes.
6. Add the rice, mix well and cook on a medium flame for 2 minutes, while stirring occasionally. Keep aside.

For the White Rice

1. Heat the ghee in a broad non-stick pan and add the caraway seeds.
2. When the seeds crackle, add the green chilies and sauté on a medium flame for 30 seconds.
3. Add the rice and paneer, mix well and cook on a medium flame for 1 to 2 minutes, while stirring occasionally. Keep aside.

For the Green Rice

1. Heat the ghee in a broad non-stick pan, add the onions and sauté on a medium flame for 1 minute.
2. Add the green paste and again sauté on a medium flame for 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Add the rice, green peas and salt, mix well and cook on a medium flame for 2 minutes, while stirring occasionally. Keep aside.

How to Proceed

1. Grease a microwave safe baking bowl with oil, spread the green rice evenly over it using the back of a spoon.
2. Then put the white rice and spread it evenly using the back of a spoon.
3. Finally, put the orange rice and spread it evenly using the back of a spoon.
4. Pour the milk evenly over it, cover with a lid and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180ºc (360ºf) for 15 to 20 minutes or microwave on high for 5 to 7 minutes.
5. Just before serving, turn upside down on a big serving plate.
6. Serve immediately.

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