Chocolate Tea

Tea is the second-most consumed beverage in the whole world. Every culture has its own unique customs involved with tea. Basically Tea is an aromatic beverage commonly prepared by pouring boiling water over the fresh or dried tea leaves. These days a varieties of tea people are enjoying which may be either hot or even cold, also taste sweet or salty as well. Salty tea is a unique tea one can have from the Kashmiri cuisine as Noon Chai / Sheer Chai which has a color of Pink and is the traditional beverage from that cuisine.

In summers instead of having hot beverage, one can thoroughly enjoy the cold ones like any flavored iced tea. I have already shared an iced tea recipe as Minty Mango Iced Tea. Well, today's recipe is all about a hot beverage flavored with chocolate as Chocolate Tea. This is a delicious tea with a hint of chocolate flavor along with cinnamon powder and cardamom powder too. The sweet factor here I used honey. So I added after preparing the tea just during serving. If using sugar as sweetener then do add along with all the ingredients into the pan while on stove top.

So are you a tea addicted ? If yes, then this different kind of hot beverage'll surely steal your heart. One thing has to keep in mind while preparing the tea here is the cocoa powder should not be added more than mentioned in the ingredients list. Otherwise that will spoil the whole taste of the tea. Some chocolate shavings or choco chips can be added for extra chocolaty in the beverage. During a rainy or winter days particularly one needs at least a cup of tea. As the rainy time is going on so try this Chocolate Tea with some cookies or even tea cakes.

Recipe Card for 'Chocolate Tea' :

Beverage, Tea, Chocolate, Hot Beverage

Beverage, Tea, Chocolate,

International

Author: sasmita

Chocolate Tea

a delicious tea with a hint of chocolate flavor

prep time: 2 Mcook time: 5 Mtotal time: 7 M

ingredients:

• Milk 1 cup
• Cocoa powder 1 tsp
• Tea powder 2 tsp
• Cinnamon powder
• Cardamom powder
• Honey as per taste
• Water 1 cup

instructions:

How to cook Chocolate Tea

1. First take a saucepan and put all the ingredients except honey.
2. Mix everything till cocoa powder incorporated well and then turn on heat.
3. Bring to a boil, stirring in between.
4. Then simmer for 1-2 minutes and turn off heat.
5. Pour into the serving glass.
6. Add honey as desired and mix well using a spoon.
7. Serve hot !

NOTES:

Cocoa powder should be used in a moderate amount, otherwise that will spoil the whole taste of the tea. Some chocolate shavings or choco chips can be added for extra chocolaty. If using sugar as sweetener then add along with all the ingredients.

This post is for the current month's Food Bloggers Recipe Swap and I was paired with Rafeeda who is a lovely blogger at The Big Sweet Tooth. While browsing through her posts I came across many recipes and among them besan ki kheer and chocolate tea stole my eyes ;) and finally I landed to make this Chocolate Tea recipe and contributed for theme.

If you tried my recipe and enjoyed fully, then please share some pictures of your creation with me. Also kindly rate the recipe below, give your valuable feedback either in the comment box below or tag me as @firsttimercook on Instagram.

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Chakuli Pitha from Odia Cuisine

 

Breakfast is the starting food of a day and that decides the mood for most people through out the whole day (a belive). Odias also love to have varieties of breakfasts like pakhala (water rice), paratha with aloo bhaja, dahibara aloodum, bara ghuguni, chuda kadali chakta etc. Chakuli pitha is also one of those kind of Odia breakfast option. People love to have as breakfast particularly during festivals, any special celebration or even in regular day. Most can get confused with this dish and may assume this to be same as South Indian Dosa. But no, there are some differences in Odia as well as South Indian rice-lentil pancakes.

• Both rice as well as lentil (black gram dal / biri) are used in dosa as well as chakuli pitha. But the proportion is different : in chakuli pitha the rice to lentil ratio is 1:1 or 1:3/4 and in dosa the rice to lentil ratio is 2:1
• Dosa has a crispy texture whereas chakuli pitha are neither too thin nor too thick.
• Most varieties of dosa has a filling in the center where as chakuli pitha has not.
• Oil used for making chakuli pitha is mostly mustard oil, but for dosa one can use any type of oil like peanut oil, sesame oil, simple refined oil too.

The chakuli pitha is vegan as well as gluten free. Both skinless or with skin black gram dal / biri (in Odia) can be used to make chakuli pitha. Most people uses the batter of 1:1 ratio of rice to lentil. But I always follow to make ratio of rice to biri as 1:3/4. The soaking as well as fermenting time is quite time taking. Some even omit the ferment part and make pitha just after preparing the batter if there is any hurry. Here I will strongly recommend to ferment the batter for at least 6-7 hours. 

Mustard oil adds a lovely flavor to the pitha. Preparaing in iron tawa gives a lovely texture to the pitha, although one can enjoy by preparaing on any nonstick pan. If using nonstick tawa then there is no need of any greasing the pan. These pithas can be thoroughly enjoyed as it is or with some jaggery or even with curries like dalma, ghuguni, buta dali tarkari etc. During festival ghee is used instead of oil to make chakuli pitha.

Recipe Card for 'Chakuli Pitha of Odia Cuisine' :

Rice, Lentil, Black gram, Indian Pancake, Odia Cuisine, Pitha, Vegan, Gluten free, Chakuli Pitha, Pancake

Pitha, Vegan, Gluten free, Chakuli Pitha, Pancake

Odia Cuisine

Author: sasmita

Chakuli pitha

neither thick nor thin rice-lentil pancake from Odia Cuisine

prep time: 15 M Resting time: 3-4 H Fermentation time: 6-7 H cook time: 5 M

ingredients:

• Biri (black gram dal) 3/4 cup
• Rice (sona masoori) 1 cup
• Oil as needed
• Salt as needed
• Water as needed

instructions:

How to cook Chakuli pitha

1. First wash black gram and rice separately in normal water.
2. Then soak both in a bowl with enough normal water at least upto 3-4 hours.
3. Next drain the soaked black gram and rice and put into a bender jar.
4. Blend to make a semi liquid batter by adding a little amount of water.
5. Add salt and mix using a spoon.
6. Transfer to a large bowl and allow to ferment for 6-7 hours by covering.
7. Next heat an iron tawa / nonstick pan and grease with little oil (skip if using nonstick pan).
8. Take a laddle full of fermented batter and pour over the pan.
9. With the back of the laddle spread the batter with circular motion starting from center towards the edges of the pan, keeping the thickness neither too thin or too thick.
10. Allow to cook for 1-2 minutes and then drizzle few drops of oil on top as well as edges.
11. Once the edges starts lifting up, flip the pitha and again keep on the pan for few seconds till fully cooked.
12. Serve along with dalma, ghuguni or any other choice-able curry !

NOTES:

Fermentation part can be omitted and one can enjoy just giving a resting time of 30 minutes to the freshly blended batter. Preparing in iron tawa gives a lovely texture to the pitha, although one can enjoy by preparing on any nonstick pan. If using nonstick tawa then there is no need of any greasing the pan. The proportion mention here (1 : 3/4) I always follow, but 1:1 ratio also can be used to prepare chakuli pitha.

If you tried my recipe and enjoyed fully, then please share some pictures of your creation with me. Also kindly rate the recipe below, give your valuable feedback either in the comment box below or tag me as @firsttimercook on Instagram.

You may also follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Google+, Instagram and can subscribe for free to get new recipes directly into your inbox 😊

This Chakuli Pitha from Odia Cuisine is contributed for 204th theme of the Foodie Monday Blog Hop foodie group which is decided as 'Nashta Time' and suggested by 'Priya' who blogs at . 

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Virgin Mojito Honito

Honey is a sweet liquid made by bees using the nectar from flowers. It is basically graded by color. With the clear, golden amber honey is often fetching a higher retail price than the darker varieties. There are two varieties of honey which is available in the market : Raw and Pasteurized form. Pasteurized honey has been heated and processed to remove impurities. And on the other hand, the raw one is removed from the hive and bottled directly, hence it will contain trace amounts of yeast, wax and even pollen. But consuming raw honey is believed to help with seasonal allergies.

Since ancient times, honey has been used as both a food and a medicine, particularly Ayurveda treatments. Honey is particularly healthy when used instead of refined sugar, which is 100% empty calories. It is very high in beneficial plant compounds and offers several health benefits as :

• Weight Loss 
• Healthy Sweetener
• Boosts Energy
• Rich in Vitamins & Minerals
• Antiseptic Property
• Speeds Wound Healing
• Antioxidant Properties etc.

In food, one can use in many dishes starting from cakes, pancakes to beverages. Here I have come up with a cold beverage as Virgin Mojito Honito. The traditional mojito uses a simple syrup which is prepared using refined sugar. That part is totally replaced with honey here. Rest other procedure is same as of the traditional one. Completely gluten free is this. In a pitcher or jar one can make honey syrup simply by mixing honey with hot water in 4:1 ratio (or even 3:1). This honey syrup can be refrigerated in a sealed container to use later too.

At the time of serving just muddle the honey syrup with some freshly squeezed lemon juice and mint leaves, then pour the chilled water to adjust accordingly. Then this can be served by pouring into the serving glass having some ice cubes. I have not added any soda water in this mojito, but one can add to get some sparkling effect in the mojito. Use of honey is making this cold beverage completely healthy one. And also no alcohol is added unlike the traditional one. So do list this Virgin Mojito Honito in your next party beverage menu.
Some other mojitos from my blog : Virgin Grilled Pineapple Mojito, Virgin Lichi Mojito.

Recipe Card for 'Virgin Mojito Honito' :

Honey, Beverage, Virgin, Mojito, Honey syrup, No alcohol, Mint leaves, Lemon juice, Gluten free

Beverage, Virgin, Mojito, Honey, Gluten free

International

Author: sasmita

Virgin Mojito Honito

a healthy variation to the traditional mojito with no alcohol used.

prep time: 15 Mcook time: total time: 15 M

ingredients:

• Hot water 1 tbsp
• Honey 1/4 cup
• Mint leaves 8-10 no.
• Lime juice 5 tbsp
• Chilled water
• Lemon slice few
• Ice cubes few

instructions:

How to cook Virgin Mojito Honito

1. In a jar first take hot water, honey and mix well using a spoon to make the honey syrup.
2. Into that, add mint leaves and freshly squeezed lemon juice.
3. Muddle well to release the aroma of mint leaves using a muddler or just use a spoon to gently crush / bruise the mint leaves.
4. Pour chilled water and give a nice mix.
5. Take the serving glass and put some ice cubes, lemon slices.
6. Fill the glass with the prepared solution.
7. Serve immediately !

NOTES:

Honey syrup can be prepared in a large batch and stored in refrigerator for later use. Some chilled soda water can use while pouring into the serving glass.

Well for current month the event 'A to Z Recipe Challenge' has come up with the alphabet H. That means, there must be a recipe post having the main ingredient name starting with alphabet H. So I opted H for Honey and have prepared a cold beverage as 'Virgin Mojito Honito'.

If you tried my recipe and enjoyed fully, then please share some pictures of your creation with me. Also kindly rate the recipe below, give your valuable feedback either in the comment box below or tag me as @firsttimercook on Instagram.

You may also follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Google+, Instagram and can subscribe for free to get new recipes directly into your inbox 😊

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Achari Masala Powder | Pickling Spice Blend

Masala / Spices are the main ingredient in any dish. The fine or even coarse blend of these lends to a completely changed look as well as taste of the dish. Although the masala powders are these days easily available in the supermarkets, still the homemade ones are the best. Nothing can beat the homemade masala powders, specifically the flavors from the freshly blend. 

Also as these are freshly prepared at home so there is no chance of any preservatives / additives being used. One can make the masala powders at home in a large batch and store in an air tight container to use later. Also by storing in refrigerator make the shelf life of the masala powder even much longer. Here is a masala powder recipe as Achari Masala Powder / Pickling Spice Blend. The process is quite simple and easy. 

Main ingredients are coriander seeds, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, nigella seeds, carom seeds, fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds, whole red chilies along with some amchur powder. I would suggest not to use red chili powder in place of whole red chilies. Particularly the whole red chilies give a nice vibrant color to the masala powder. Here is a dish I have already shared previously using the achari masala powder as Achari Vegetable Pulao.

Completely vegan and gluten free is this. Everything first dry roasted over low to medium heat and then blend into either a semi coarse or fine powder. This masala powder can be used in most of the Indian pickles or even curries and side dishes to give a distinct flavor as well as taste to the whole dish.

Recipe Card for 'Achari Masala Powder' :

Spice Blend, Masala Powder, Homemade, Vegan, Gluten free, Achari masala, Pickle powder, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, nigella seeds, carom seeds, fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds, whole red chilies, amchur powder, dry mango powder

Spice Blend, Masala Powder, Homemade, Vegan, Gluten free,

Indian

Author: sasmita

Achari Masala Powder | Pickling Spice Blend

a semi course / fine powder used in Indian pickle preparation.

prep time: 5 Mcook time: 10 Mtotal time: 15 M

ingredients:

• Coriander seed 2 tbsp
• Nigella seed (kalonji) 1.5 tsp
• Fennel seed 4 tbsp
• Mustard seed 4 tsp
• Fenugreek seed 1 tsp
• Cumin seed 4 tsp
• Red chili 5-6 no.
• Amchur powder 3 tsp

instructions:

How to cook Achari Masala Powder | Pickling Spice Blend

1. In a pan first take coriander seed, nigella seed, fennel seed, mustard seed, fenugreek seed and cumin seed.
2. Mix well and dry roast over low-medium heat.
3. Transfer to a plate and allow to cool down completely.
4. Then in the same pan take red chilies and dry roast.
5. Turn off heat and allow to cool.
6. Next put all the roasted ingredients in a blender jar along with dry mango powder (amchur powder).
7. Blend to either fine or coarse powder.
8. Store in an airtight container.

NOTES:

Do refrigerate the masala powder after keeping in an air tight container. By that way, the masala stays good for one month at least. Always dry roast the whole red chilies separately as it has different size than other spices. Some carom seeds (2 tsp) can be used. But I have not added as I was run out of it. The heat must be low-medium, otherwise the spices'll burn.

If you tried my recipe and enjoyed fully, then please share some pictures of your creation with me. Also kindly rate the recipe below, give your valuable feedback either in the comment box below or tag me as @firsttimercook on Instagram.

You may also follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Google+, Instagram and can subscribe for free to get new recipes directly into your inbox 😊

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This 'Achari Masala Powder' is contributed for 70th Healthy Wellthy Cuisines where the theme is 'Masala Dabba at HW'. Here are more similar recipes shared by our Healthy Wealthy Group members as Maharashtrian Goda Masala, Vada Pav Chutney Powder, Punjabi Garam masala, Garam Masala and Kadai Masala Mix.

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