Amla sherbet syrup - Indian Gooseberry Juice Syrup

Amla sherbet syrup step by step instructions:

Amla or Indian gooseberry is available in abundance during winters and its health benefits are known to everyone. It has a high Vitamin-C content present in it.
There are many things which can be made from amla which can be stored throughout the year. Among those are juices, pickles etc.
Today I will be showing you how to make concentrated amla juice which can be stored in the refrigerator for 5-6 months easily.
The ratio of amla juice to sugar is 1:2. I find this perfect. If you want you can increase the sugar. Don’t decrease it otherwise it will taste very sour.

Let us start cooking!!!

Ingredients:
Indian Gooseberry (Amla): 1 kg
Lemon juice: 1 cup
Ginger: 30 gms (washed and peeled)
Sugar: 8 cups (~ 1 kg)
Water: 4 cups

Method:
1. Wash the amla and clean them with a dry cloth. The amla should be wiped nicely.

2. De-seed the amla.

3. In a juicer grinder, take out the juice of the cut amla pieces and ginger. Keep aside the juice.

4. We will get 600 ml of juice from 1 kg of amla.

5. In a pan take water and sugar.

6. Let it boil until it becomes white and frothy. This point converts the sugar into bura or tagar. After this stage the sugar starts to caramelize. So we need to be very careful and keep observing the syrup. This procedure will take around 13-15 minutes. Switch off the flame. This bura will again liquefy as soon as we add the amla juice to it.

7. Immediately add the amla juice and lemon juice to the bura. You will see that when we add the juice to bura, the bura and amla juice mix very well and we get nice thick liquid syrup.

8. Let the mixture cool.
9. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

10. Healthy and super yummy “Amla Sherbet Syrup” is ready!
11. To prepare the sherbet, pour 2 tbsp of amla syrup in a glass and add 300 ml of water. Add cumin seeds powder, black pepper powder, salt, and rock salt. Mix well. Healthy and cool "Amla Sherbet" is ready for a hot afternoon.

Tips:
1. The main point to remember here is to switch off the flame at the correct time when the sugar converts into bura. If you cook more, sugar will caramelize and the sherbet will get that flavor too. If you like the caramelized flavor then you can certainly cook the chasni more.
2. The quantity of ginger can be increased or decreased as per one’s choice.

See you soon with a new recipe till then Happy Cooking!!!

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Braided Bean Taco

Braided Bean Taco step by step instructions:

Taco is a traditional Mexican dish. It is made up of corn tortillas (we can otherwise use any other flour for making tortillas), and the filling can be anything from beans to salads and if you are a non-vegetarian then meat etc. The tacos can be either soft or hard.
My mother has been making tacos for many years and she used to make the shape of the taco shell just like a bowl and not the traditional boat style shell. And recently the bowl style has been replaced by flat shape, which I feel is very convenient to eat.
Today I will be showing you how to make tortillas, cook it, and the stuffing for the taco. The only change brought here is the shape of the shell. Instead of making a boat shape I will be making a braided taco. We will make a hard taco today!

Let us start cooking!!!

Ingredients:

For the stuffing
Red kidney beans (Rajma): ½ cup (100 gms, washed and soaked in water for 6-7 hours)
Tomato: 1
Onion: 1
Ginger: a small piece
Garlic: 1-2 cloves
Ghee: 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
Turmeric powder: ¼ tsp
Coriander powder: 2 tsp
Red chili powder: 1 ½ tsp
Tomato ketchup: 1 tbsp
Salt as per taste

For the tortilla
Maize flour (makkai atta): ¼ cup
Wheat flour (gehun atta): ¼ cup
Taco seasoning: 1 tbsp
Salt as per taste
Water: ½ cup less 2 tbsp (lukewarm) or as required

For the salsa
Tomatoes: 2 (200 gms, seeds removed, roughly chopped)
Onion: 1 (50 gms, roughly chopped)
Green Capsicum: a small piece (40 gms, roughly chopped)
Red Capsicum: a small piece (40 gms, roughly chopped)
Yellow Capsicum: a small piece (40 gms, roughly chopped)
Vinegar: ½ tbsp.
Garlic: 1-2 pods
Ginger: a small piece
Coriander leaves: Fistful
Green chili: 1 (big size)
Lemon juice: 1 tbsp
Sugar: 1 tbsp (optional)
Salt as per taste

For the hung curd dip
Hung curd: ¾ cup (100 gms)
Almond: 7-8 (crushed)
Walnut: 3-4 (crushed)
Salt as per taste
Black pepper as per taste

For garnishing
Cabbage thinly sliced (as required)
Tomato thinly sliced (as required)
Onion thinly sliced (as required)

Method:
For the Tortilla
1. Mix together maize flour, wheat flour, taco seasoning, and salt. Add water and knead into smooth dough. Keep aside covered for half an hour.

2. Divide the dough into 8 equal balls.

3. Roll out thin rotis with the help of dry wheat flour.

4. Preheat the convection mode of microwave on 200 degree Celsius.
5. Make 4-5 rolls from aluminum foil as shown in the image.

6. Place the aluminum roll in the center of the thin roti.

7. Leaving the center make cut marks on both the sides as shown in the image.

8. Now starting from the corner, take one strip from one side and keep it on the foil. Then take a new strip from the other side. Similarly, complete the entire braid, putting an alternate strip on the foil.
9. Similarly, make braids from the remaining rotis.

10. Keep the braided shell inside the microwave and cook in convection mode for 6-7 minutes on 220 degree Celsius or until the shells have become crisp.
11. Take out the shells from the microwave and let them cool. Carefully pull the foil from the center of the shells.

12. The braided taco shells are ready.

For the Stuffing
1. Pressure cook the rajma with ¾ cup water, salt, and red chili powder.

2. Grind onion, garlic, and ginger to a smooth paste.
3. Heat ghee in a pan. Add cumin seeds. Let them fry for a few seconds.
4. Add the onion paste and fry until all the water has evaporated and the raw smell has gone.

5. Add turmeric powder and coriander powder. Mix well.

6. Grind tomato and add to the pan. Cook until the ghee starts to separate from the tomato.

7. Now add the rajma.

8. Cook covered, for 10-15 minutes or until the gravy has thickened and the rajma has absorbed the flavors, stirring occasionally.
9. Add tomato ketchup and mix well.

10. Take out in a bowl.

For the Salsa
1. In a grinder take tomatoes, onions, all color capsicums, garlic, ginger, green chili, coriander leaves, sugar, salt, and vinegar. Roughly grind and take out in a bowl. Add lemon juice and mix well.

2. Keep it refrigerated before using.

For the Hung Curd Dip
1. In a bowl mix together hung curd, almond, walnut, salt, and black pepper.

2. Keep it refrigerated until use.

For the Braided Taco
1. Take one braided shell and fill the bean stuffing inside it carefully with the help of a spoon.

2. Similarly, fill all other shells.

3. Keep the filled shells on the serving plate.

4. Garnish with cabbage, tomato, onion, hung curd dip, and salsa.

5. Serve immediately with salsa and hung curd dip.

6. Delicious "Braided Bean Taco" is ready!

Tips:
1. The shape of the shells can be chosen as per your choice. Braided ones are a bit difficult to make but with few tries, you will be able to master it.

See you soon with a new recipe till then Happy Cooking!!!

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