Recipe - KFC Style Fried Chicken

Ingredients - 
1. Chicken pieces (small/medium) - 250 gms

For Marinade -
1. Chilli powder - 2 tsp
2. Salt - 1 tsp

For coating -
1. Egg - 1
2. Milk - 1 Tbsp
3. All purpose flour (Maida) - 2-3 Tbsp
4. Corn flour - 2-3 Tbsp
5. Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
6. Red chilli flakes - 2 tsp
7. Oregano - 2 tsp
8. Thyme - 1 tsp
9. Dried basil leave powder - 1 tsp
10. Salt - 1 tsp
11. Bread crumbs - 1 cup
12. Oil - for deep frying

Method -
1. Coat the pieces in the chilli powder and salt marinade. Keep in refrigerator for 30 min.

2. Mix the remaining dry ingredients together and keep ready for coating
3. Beat an egg and add milk to it. Add a pinch of salt. Mix well

4. Heat oil in a deep wok. Ensure that it is hot before starting to fry
5. Take each piece of marinated chicken and drip in the egg mix
6. Put this piece in the dry coating mix. Coat it well with the mix
7. Deep fry the pieces
8. Serve with ketchup

Note -
1. Depending on the size of chicken pieces, the frying time can vary from 5 min to 10 min
2. The colour of this may not turn out to be as red as you want. You can use food colour in the mix if you want

Recipe - Kashmiri Rajma

Ingredients -
1. Rajma - 300 gms
2. Tomato - 3 medium
3. Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
4. Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
5. Grated ginger - 1 Tbsp
6. Coriander powder - 4 tsp
7. Red chilli powder - 2 tsp
8. Garam masala - 1 tsp
9. salt - 2 tsp (to taste)
10. Water for cooking
11. Oil - about 2 Tbsp

Method -
1. Soak the Rajma in water for about 12 hours.
2. Put the Rajma in a pressure cooker, put 2 tsp salt and pour water till the rajma is covered completely and there's about 1 cm of water on top of it. Let the whistle on it sound about 5-6 times and then let it cook in the pressure till it cools down.
3. Meanwhile, put the tomatoes in boiling water till the skin starts to peel off. Then take the skin off and make tomato puree
4. Heat oil in a wok and put cumin seeds in it. When they split, reduce the flame and put asafoetida,  ginger and coriander powder
5. After about 15 seconds, put the tomato puree in and mix. Let it cook till the oil starts separating

6. Put Red chilli powder and garam masala in. Let it cook for another 20 seconds
7. From the rajma cooked in the pressure cooker, take about 50 grams of rajma and put in the wok. Using the back of the ladle, crush these beans and make them into a paste

8. Put the remaining rajma in and put the water in which it was cooked, also inside the wok
9. Close the lid and let it come to a boil.
10. Taste and add more salt or red chilli powder as needed
11. Serve with rice

Recipe - Walnut date chocolate cake

Ingredients
1. Maida (All purpose flour) - 200 gms
2. Sugar - 200 gms
3. Unsalted butter - 200 gms
4. Eggs - 4
5. Baking powder - 1 tsp
6. Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
7. Crushed walnuts - 1/2 cup
8. Dates - small pieces 1/2 cup
9. Cocoa powder - 4 tsp

Method
1. Mix 1/4th tsp of bakind soda with the dates and let it rest. This helps maintain the colour.
2. Mix maida, baking powder and remaining baking soda using a thin wired sieve. Pass through the sieve 3-4 times to mix it well
3. Mix the cocoa powder in it. The amount of cocoa powder can be adjusted based on amount of chocolate flavour you want. 4 tsp gives just enough chocolate flavour.
4. Beat butter in a glass bowl till fluffy. It's a lot of effort, but then you do get mechanical egg beaters that make it slightly easy for you.
5. Start adding one egg at a time and continue beating it. The other option is to beat the eggs separately in a blender and mix with the butter and again beat it for sometime.
6. Grind the sugar to a powder in a grinder and add to the egg and butter mix and beat it again. Remember, you have to beat it till it's fluffy. If you overdo it, it will become slightly lumpy.
7. At this point, start pre-heating the oven to 200C
8. Apply butter to the sides and bottom of the baking pan and dust it with some maida.
9. Put the dates and walnuts into the batter and mix well.
10. Now put the maida/baking powder mix in batter and fold it in slowly. DO NOT beat it. Just move a wooden spatula in a clockwise or anti clockwise direction in the bowl to mix it slowly. Do not change direction midway. Fold the mixture in this way slowly so as not to release the air that has already built up inside the batter.
11. Pour the batter in the baking pan upto slightly more than half the height.
12. Keep it in the oven at 200C for 5 min.
13. Change the temperature to 180C and bake it for another 35-40 min.
14. Once the timer goes off, take out the pan and insert a knife into the cake. If the cake sticks to the knife blade, keep it inside for another few minutes.
15. Once done, take out and put on a reverse wire mesh in order to air it.

Recipe - Gosht masala (Mutton masala)

Ingredients -
1. Mutton/Lamb - 1 kg
2. Onions - 500 gms (after cutting) which is apprx 625 gms (before cutting)
3. Red chilli powder - 4-5 tsp
4. Turmeric powder - 3-4 tsp
5. Garam masala - 3-4 tsp
6. Garlic cloves - 3/4 cup + 10 extra
7. Ginger - 1/4 cup
8. Bay leef (Tej patta)- 2
9. Black cardamon (Badi Elaichi) - 4
10. Star Anise (Chakra phool) - 3
11. Cinnamon stick (Dalchini) - 2
12. Mustard seeds - 2 tsp
13. Cumin seeds - 3 tsp
14. Coriander seeds - 2 tsp
15. Salt - 4 tsp (plus as per taste)
16. Oil - 2 Tbsp
17. Potato - 1 medium

Method -
1. Wash the mutton pieces well
2. Make a paste of ginger and garlic in a grinder
3. Marinate the pieces by mixing well with Red chilli powder, Turmeric powder, Garam masala, Ginger-Garlic paste and salt
4. Keep it in a refrigerator overnight (or at least for 4 hours)

5. Chop the onions. You don't necessarily need to chop it too fine as we are going to cook them for a long time making them soft anyway

6. Heat oil in a pan. Keep the flame on medium low.
7. Put mustard, Cumin, Coriander seeds
8. When mustard seeds split, put the extra chopped garlic
9. After about 10 seconds, put the bay leef, black cardamom, star anise and cinnamon sticks. Cook for another 2 min

10. Put the onions in. Close the lid and let it cook for about 15 min
11. Put a couple of pinches of salt and a little water. Mix again and cook them for another 20-25 min until the onions are extremely soft and cooked

12. Put the mutton pieces in. Mix it well and put warm water in it. About 3 cups would do

13. Keep the lid on and keep cooking for about 2 hours on medium low flame. Midway through this put a potato (with the skin on) cut in 2-3 pieces in the curry
14. Check if the mutton is cooked by piercing some pieces with a fork. If it goes in without any effort, then the mutton is cooked

Tip - After about 1 hour of cooking you can also taste the curry and adjust the spices accordingly
Tip - When mutton is cooked, put a couple of green chillis cut in half in it and cover the pan. Cook for 5 min. This will bring a different aroma to the mutton

**Thank you Shivangi and Kashmira for the recipe**

Recipe - Mango pickle

Ingredients
1. Raw Mangoes - 1 kg
2. Small mustard seeds - 2 Tbsp
3. Nigella seeds - 2 Tbsp
4. Fenugreek seeds (Methi dana) - 2Tbsp
5. Chilli powder - 2 Tbsp
6. Tuermeric powder - 1.5 Tbsp
7. Fennel seeds - 2 Tbsp (If you like)
8. Salt - 200 gms
9. Mustard oil (or any edible oil) - 250 gms

Method
1. Wash and cut the raw mongoes in to small pieces. Size can be as big or small as you like
2. Dry them out so there's no water on the pieces
3. Mix all of the ingredients (except oil) with the mango pieces
4. One technique is to keep this mixture in the sun for 2 days so it becomes even more drier but at the same time, the salt melts and the spices release their taste. Do remember to cover with muselin cloth so no dust gets in
5. After 2 days (or immediately if you have not kept the mixture in sun), pour the oil in and mix well again. If you like strong mustard oil taste, then do not heat it. However, if you want a slightly milder taste then warm the oil a little to make it lukewarm and them mix it in the pickle.
6. Store in a glass jar and keep mixing every one or two days. Also ensure that there's at least one centimeter oil on top of the pickle always in the jar. This ensures longer storage.