Sqid Abalonetti

A squid belongs to the general family of cephlapod and looks like a mini octopus because of its tentacles. Just like the octopus it discharges a dark fluid into the face of its predator when threatened with potential danger. The average length of an edible squid generally varies from 5cm to 100cm although some colossal squids could be as big as 20m.The squis which forms a part of most Mediterranean cuisines, has a firm white and sweet tasing meat.

However, if you want to cook any squid dish at home, you have to follow some preliminary steps. You have to start by cleaning a squid, for which the mantle has to be separated gently from the head. Next, the interior of the mantle has to be thrown away, removing the edible ink from it. Now pull the membrane from the mantle away, cut off the tentacles just under the eyes and discard the hard beak. 

After you wash the squid thoroughly, it is ready to be tenderised by making 2 cm slits along its body and bashing the flesh with a mallet. In order to prevent the squid flesh from toughening, you must start cooking it while it is still fresh. The only time taking squid dish is prepared by braising 7.5 to 10 cm long pieces of squid that need to be cooked for at least 1 hour. 

Here am going to provide you an easy recipe of squid through a baking process.

SQUID ABALONETTI:

Ingredients  :

• Squid – ½ Kg
• Water –1 cup
• Salt to taste
• White sauce
• Grated Cheese

    * Boil the squid until it is tender and add water accordingly to bring it to complete 
    boiling. When its boiled drain the water and keep aside

    *Greece the baking  pan with butter and keep aside.

Method for Preparing white sauce:

1  1.    In a sauce pan place heat the butter in medium heat.

   2.   Add the flour, stir constantly for about a minute and add milk and whisk thoroughly 
    until the sauce thickens and come to boil.

   3.  Add mustard paste, salt and pepper finally.

Method for baking:

    *  Preheat the oven at 350* Fahrenheit.

    *   Layer the squid in the baking pan and add run white sauce on top.

    *   Add the remaining squid and this time add white sauce as a top layer and spread 
   grated cheese on it.

    * Bake for 15-20 minutes and remove from the oven and serve hot.

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Home made Pizza

Ingredients  for Dough:

• Flour - 2 Cups
• Baking Powder - ½ tspn
• Yeast - 1 tbspn
• Oil (vegetable or olive oil) - 4 tbspn
•  Sugar - 1 tbspn
• Salt - ½ tspn
• Water - 3 - 4 tbspn ( as required to make a perfect dough)  

1.      Mix all the above ingredients and prepare the dough and  cover it in a bowl.
2.   .  Keep aside for about 30- 45 minutes.

             
       Ingredients for Topping:

• Pizza Sauce / Tomato Sauce - 2 tbspn
• Cheese shredded -  ½ cup
• Chicken Tikka Chunks/any meat chunks boiled with pepper & salt & finally shredded - ½ cup 
• Onion - 1
  
• Mashroom chopped - ¼ cup 
• Capsicum -  ¼ cup 
• Oregano leaves/Coriander leaves - ¼ cup

Steps to Prepare:

1. Preheat the oven in 180* C.
2. Get ready with the dough only once the specified time is over and the dough has been raised.
3. Patter the hand with flour holding the dough to make a ball.
4.  Roll the dough on to a floured surface making circle with hand according to your preference and how much the thickness of the crust required.
5. Transfer the dough into an oiled/flour pattered flat baking pan or a glass pan.(I have used my micro oven's glass plate)
6. Spread around the ingredients leaving 1 inch base free. Top up sauce, little cheese, Chicken chunks, onion pieces,mushroom, capsicum, oregano or coriander leaves and good quantity of shredded cheese on top.( If you don't have shredded cheese, you can shred the Cube cheese with vegetable shredder.)
7. Bake the Pizza for about 15 - 20 minutes or until the crust is nicely browned and cheese turns brown .

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Walnut Banana Tea Cake

Ingredients  :

• Cream – 1 cup
• Lemon – ½ piece 

* Add the lemon to the cream to get sour cream and keep aside

• Walnut crushed – 4 tbspn
• Cinnamon powder – 2 tbspn
• Sugar powdered  ( icing Sugar) – 3 tbspn

  *Mix the three above and keep aside

  * Greece the baking pan with butter and keep aside.

• Unsalted Butter – 8 ohns
• Egg – 2
• Banana – 2 smashed
• Sliced banana- 1
• Vanilla extract – 1 tbspn
• Flour – 2 cups
• Baking Powder – ½ tspn
• Salt – ¼ tspn
• Sugar – 1 cup 

Steps to Prepare:

1. In a bowl beat butter, eggs, sour cream,mashed bananas, vanilla extract.
2. Fold in with hand flour, baking powder, salt & sugar.
3. Spoon half of the batter in the tin and put half of the walnut mixture sprinkle.
4. On to the top place the sliced banana and layer on rest of the batter.
5. For garnish you can add some walnut pieces on the cake.
6. Bake for about an hour till skewer inserted in center comes out clean.
7. Cool in a wire rack and carefully overturn and sprinkle with icing sugar before serving.

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Baked Macaroni

Ingedients:

• Macroni- 500gms
• Keema – ½ kg
• Oil – 2 tblspn
• Onion – 1
• Carrot – 1
• Capsicum – ½ piece
• Chilly powder – 2 tspn
• Black pepper – ¼ tspn
• Garam masla – ¼ tspn
• Turmeric powder – ¼ tspn
• Green chilly - 1
• Ginger paste – ½ tspn
• Lemon- 1
• Grated cheese – ½ cup
• Soya sauce – 1 tspn
• Chilly sauce – 1 tspn
• Salt to taste     

Ingredients for White Sauce:

• Butter – 3 tbspn
• Flour- 2tbspn
• Fresh milk – 2 cups
• Mustard paste – 1 tspn
• White pepper – ½ tspn
• Salt to taste

 

Method :

1.   In a cooker, add the mutton or chicken keema and add chilly powder, turmeric powder, half       of   green chilly, half of the lemon squeezed, salt and equal layer of water.
2.   Waite for 3-4 whistle and keep aside.
3.  Prepare the macaroni in a separate pot by boiling the water first and adding the macaroni, salt and 1 tspn of oil and cook until as prescribed in the packet.  Once it is boiled and drained add cold water on to the macaroni while draining, inorder to stop them being cooked more. 
4. Take a separate pan, heat up and add the oil, garlic, onion, carrot, cabbage & capsicum. Stir and simmer for five minutes until the vegetables are soft. 
5.  Add the keema and stir until all are well cooked and dried. On to that add little soya sauce and chilly sauce to taste perfect. 
6. Add the macaroni to the masala and stir softly. 
7. Add black pepper and remaining lemon and stir simmer.

Method for white sauce:

          1.       In a sauce pan place heat the butter in medium heat.

          2.       Add the flour, stir constantly for about a minute and add milk and whisk thoroughly until the

                sauce thickens and come to boil.

          3.       Add mustard paste, salt and pepper finally.

Method for baking:

         1.       Preheat the oven at 350* Fahrenheit.

         2.       In a baking pan, place one layer of macaroni.

         3.        on top spread the white sauce an another layer of macaroni and white sauce covered well.

         4.        Spread the grated cheese on top and bake for 15-20 minutes.

         5.       Remove from the oven and allow to cool down and serve hot.

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Cakes

Fresh Orange Cake:

·  Initially Heat the oven at 350*c

Ingredients for blending:

 ü    Orange – 2 cut into normal piece

 ü    Egg – 3

 ü    Sugar – 1 ½ Cup

 ü    Olive oil – ½ cup or Butter –1 ½  Stick

Steps to Prepare:

·         Blend the above ingredients one by one in a mixer or Food Processor for about two minutes.

·         Place the batter in a bowl and add rest of the below ingredients   as well.

   ü       Flour – 2 Cups

   ü      Baking Powder – 2 tea  spoon

   ü     Salt – ¼ tea spoon

Method:

•  Mix the above ingredients with a spatula or you can use clean hand until it turns smooth.
•  Grease the baking pan with butter for baking the cake in the oven.
•  Put the batter into the pan and bake it to 40 – 45 minutes until texture comes out clean.
•   Meanwhile prepare the icing / topping for the orange cake.

Ingredients for Icing

   ü  Butter - ¼ Cup

   ü  Icing Sugar – 2 Cups

   ü  Vanila Extract – ½ tea spoon

   ü  Orange Juice – 2/3 table spoon

   ü  Grated Orange layer – For garnish

Method :

       ·         Beat the butter with electric beater until it smashed well.

       ·         Add the next three ingredients and blend until it’s nice and creamy. It should be in spread consistency

             and not too runny.

      ·         Once the cake is cooled spread the icing and garnish the cake with grated orange. Serve it tasty. 

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