Wednesday, 30 September 2015

How to Hard Boil an Egg on Induction cooker

Hello Friends!

In this post I"ll teach you how to hard Boil an Egg on Induction cooker.


Hard-boiled eggs are great for deviled eggs, egg salad, or on their own as a protein-rich and filling snack. However, if you always end up with cracked eggs and green yolks when you try to make hard-boiled eggs, you're not getting the most of your eggs. Luckily, there are ways to guarantee delicious eggs every time. Best of all, you can learn these easy processes in just a few minutes!

Prep time:4 - 5 minutes
Cook time: 3-20 minutes
Total time: 9-20minutes
Author :   Vikrant Chauhan

1. Sort the eggs and place them in a saucepan or pot. Gently place your eggs at the bottom of a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stack them very gently to avoid breaking. Don't stack them more than four-deep.
If you're unsure whether your eggs are fresh, test them by placing them in a bowl of salt water. If the egg sinks to the bottom, it's fresh. If it floats to the top, get rid of it.
To keep the eggs from cracking as they boil, you can try placing a folded cheesecloth at the bottom of the pot to pad them.

2. Fill the pan with cold tap water. Cover the eggs gently with at least 1-2 inch (3-6 cm) of water. Add a pinch of salt. You can steady the eggs with your hand as you add the water to keep the eggs from breaking. Alternatively, just point the stream of water at the side of the pan.
Cold water helps to keep the eggs from overcooking. Never drop eggs directly into a pot of hot water, or the shells will crack and the egg will run (giving you poached eggs).
Salted water helps to make the egg white firm up more quickly. It also helps plug small leaks if the shell cracks during the cooking process.

3.Place the pan on medium heat. Cover the pan with a lid. Let the water come to a gentle boil. The water will boil a bit more quickly with the lid on, but it's fine to leave it off if you'd rather keep an eye on the eggs.
You can stir the eggs very gently every now and then to make sure they've not settled at the bottom, where they'll cook less evenly and break more easily. Use a spoon to stir and be very gentle.

4.  Remove from heat when the water boils. As soon as the water reaches a full boil, turn the heat off. Leave the lid on the pan. The heat of the water and the remaining warmth from the burner will be enough to finish cooking your eggs. Depending on how hard or soft you like your eggs, you can leave them like this for about 5-25 minutes:
If you like your eggs soft-boiled, remove them from the water in five  minutes or less. The whites should be set, while the yolks should be runny and warm.
If you like your eggs medium-boiled, remove them from the water in 6-8minutes. The yolks should be semi-soft in the very center and the whites should be very firm.
If you like your eggs hard-boiled, leave the eggs in the hot water for up to 11-16 minutes. The yolks should be firm all the way through. It's difficult to overcook eggs this way.

5. Chill the eggs to stop the cooking process. As soon as you've waited for your eggs to finish cooking, drain the hot water from the pan gently. You can also remove the eggs one by one with a slotted spoon. Place the eggs under cold running water or drop them carefully into a bowl of ice water to bring their temperature down quickly. Let them sit in cool water for about 5-6 minutes.
Once the eggs are cool enough to hold in your hand comfortably, put them in the refrigerator for 25-30 minutes to loosen the shells.
If you're not particular about how pretty your peeled eggs are, you can skip the refrigerator and start peeling them right after chilling them.
To test whether an egg is hard-boiled without breaking it, while it on a table. If it spins fast and easy, it is hard boiled. If it wobbles, it needs more time.

6. Peel the eggs when you're ready to eat them. Press each egg into a clean, flat surface and roll it in your hand to crack the shell. Start peeling from the fatter end of the egg, where there should be a small empty space under the shell. This makes it slightly easier to peel. Rinse the eggs under cold water as you peel them to keep bits of shell and membrane from sticking to the egg.
Quick peeling tip: Put the eggs back in the pan you cooked them in and put the lid back on. Shake the pan back and forth to crack all the shells at once.

7. Store eggs in the refrigerator for 5-7 days. After peeling the eggs, they're ready to eat. You can store leftovers in a bowl with a plate on top or a sealed container. In both cases, cover the eggs with a wet paper towel. Change the paper towel each day to keep the eggs from drying out.
Eat the eggs within four to five days.
You can also store the eggs in cold water. Change the water each day to keep the eggs from breaking down.
Hard-boiled eggs can be stored several days before cracking and peeling them, but they tend to get a little rubbery and dried out. It's usually better to keep peeled eggs moist in the fridge with water or a paper towel.

Monday, 28 September 2015

cooking method & Recipe of pie(Indian Punjabi samosa)

             punjabi samosa recipe

punjabi samosa recipe with step by step

I love samosas and regularly buy them from outside. actually, i have eaten samosas from all over india.

two ways of deep frying the samosa to get the flaky crust:

1. frying samosa once – in this method, heat the oil to high temperature and then slid the samosas gently into the hot oil. as soon as you add the samosa to the hot oil, reduce the flame to low and now fry the samosa on low flame. this will make sure that the samosa does not absorb too much oil.

2. double frying the samosas – this is a little lengthy method and the one which i will suggest you to try while making samosas at home. in this method the samosas are very lightly fried not allowing them to become golden. just that the dough cooks and thats it.

an alternative method to bake instead of frying:

3. baking the samosas – i also baked the samosas. there was not much difference in the taste. but texture wise, i find the fried samosa better than the baking method. from health perspective, baking method is better. i baked at 180 degrees C for about 32 mins.

few points to remember for the samosa dough crust:


1. enough fat or moyen should be added to the flour. one of my friends suggested 1/5th of fat to 1 part of flour in weight. i have reduced the amount of fat in this recipe.samosa filling:


1. i personally like the punjabi samosa which is served in north india. in this peas and potatoes are the main ingredients and the filling is not crushed to a smoothness. the aloo or potato pieces are soft but intact and there are few green chili pieces also in the filing.
2. in some places, they add raisins also in the filling which gives it a little sweet taste in between. sometimes cashews are also added.
3. in some places, the filling is totally mashed unlike the punjabi samosas.
4. if the green chilies are not added in the samosa filling then fried green chilies are usually served separately.
5. some people also add ginger garlic paste and on few rare occasion, i have found chopped carrots pieces also in the filing.

my personal choice will always be a punjabi samosa. the filling for a punjabi samosa also has to be equally good. i have mentioned two potato-peas stuffings in the recipe details. in the first one (also shown in the step by step pics) i have freshly ground the spices. the second filling recipe is a bit quick and easy. both the stuffing recipes are adapted from my home science notes.
2. the amount of water added depends on the quality of the flour.

3. don’t roll the samosa crust too thick otherwise it will take too much time to brown it and it will become hard while frying on low heat and secondly heat will not go inside and the filling will not be cooked properly.

4. also don’t roll the samosa too thin, so that it is not able to contain the potato stuffing. so remember these points to roll the samosa dough.

             samosa recipe -

 makes about 6 samosas

PREP TIME
45 mins
COOK TIME
45 mins
TOTAL TIME
1 hour 30 mins

punjabi samosa - a classic & popular indian snack stuffed with spiced potato peas filling.
AUTHOR: Vikrant
RECIPE TYPE: snacks, starters
CUISINE: north indian, punjabi
SERVES: 3-4
INGREDIENTS (measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml)
for the samosa pastry:
2 cups maida or all purpose flour
2tbsp ghee or oil
3-4tbsp water (i added 4tbsp + 1 tsp water)
1 tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
salt as required ( i added ¾ tsp salt)
oil for deep frying
for the samosa stuffing 1:
3 medium sized potatoes/aloo
¾ to 1 cup green peas/matar, fresh or frozen
1 green chili + ½ inch ginger crushed to a coarse paste in a mortar and pestle
½ tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
¼ tsp red chili powder (lal mirch powder)
a pinch of asafoetida (hing)
½ tbsp oil
salt as required
whole spices to be ground:
¼ inch cinnamon (dal chini)
2 black peppercorns (kali mirch)
1 clove (laung)
1 green cardamom (hari elaichi or choti elaichi)
½ tsp cumin (jeera)
½ tsp fennel seeds (saunf)
1 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp dry pomegranate seeds/anardana or 1 tsp dry mango powder/amchur * check notes for mango powder
for the samosa stuffing 2:
3 medium size potatoes
¾ to 1 cup peas/matar, fresh or frozen
1 green chili and ½ inch ginger made in a paste or chopped finely
¾ tsp garam masala powder
¼ or ½ tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp dry mango powder (amchur)
1 tsp fennel powder (saunf powder)
1 tsp coriander powder (dhania powder)
¾ tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves (dhania patta)
2 to 2.5 tsp oil
salt as required


lets start step by step samosa recipe:
preparing the samosa pastry:

1. take the all purpose flour, carom seeds, salt in a bowl. mix well and add ghee or oil.

2. with your fingertips rub the ghee in the flour to get a breadcrumb like consistency. the whole mixture should lump together when gathered.

3. add 1 or 2 tbsp water.

4. begin to knead adding water as required.

5. knead to a firm dough. cover the dough with a moistened napkin and keep aside for 30 mins.

preparing the potato peas stuffing for the samosa:

6. dry roast the spices till aromatic in a pan stirring often. let them cool.

7. in a dry grinder or coffee grinder, powder the roasted spices.

8. steam or boil the potatoes and peas till they are cooked.

9. peel and chop the potatoes in small cubes

10. in a pan, heat oil. splutter the cumin. add the ginger-green chili paste. saute for some seconds.

11. add the peas, asafoetida, red chili powder & the freshly ground spice powder. saute for 1-2 mins on a low flame.

12: add the cubed potatoes and salt. stir and saute for 2-3 mins more.

13: keep the stuffing aside covered with a lid. check the taste and add more red chili powder or salt if required.

preparing & shaping the samosa:

14: the dough after 30 mins. knead the dough lightly again.

15: divided the dough into pieces.

16: take each piece and roll in your palms first. then roll it with a rolling pin keeping the thickness neither thin nor thick.

17: cut with a knife or a pastry cutter through the center of the samosa pastry.


18: with a brush or with your finger tips, on the straight edge of the sliced dough, apply some water.

19:  join the two ends bringing the watered edge on top of the plain edge 

20: press the edges well, so that they get sealed. it will look like a cone.

21: the samosa cone is ready to be stuffed with the potato-peas stuffing.

22. stuff the prepare samosa cone with the prepared potato-peas stuffing.

23: apply or brush some water on the top cone edge. pinch a part in the edge

24: press both the edges. be sure there are no cracks. the edges should be joined very well so that the stuffing does not come out while frying.

25: prepare all the samosas this way and keep covered with a moist kitchen napkin.

26: now heat oil for deep frying in a kadai or pan. once the oil becomes hot (test by adding a small piece of dough – it should come up quickly once added to the hot oil) gently slide 3-4 of the prepares stuffed samosas & then reduce the flame to low.

27: turn over in between and fry the samosas till golden on a low flame.

28: drain samosas on paper towels to remove excess oil.

serve samosas hot or warm with coriander chutney, saunth (tamarind chutney) or tomato sauce. in north india, they also serve punjabi chole with samosa.