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Scalpel and Spice by Manik Kaushal, Ludhiana (2026)

01/02/2026

These melt in mouth DAHI BHALLA are always a hit! You should definitely make them at home. The recipe has already been shared at my page. A few tips to make sure that your bhalla turn soft and light, always:

1. Soak urad dal for at least 3-4 hours. I use split, dhuli urad dal. Some people add a little moong dal as well. It depends upon you. You can use 1 cup dhuli urad with 1/4th cup of dhuli moong dal for the recipe.

2. Drain the dal and grind into a smooth mixture. Do not add any water initially, since we have already soaked the dal. Add spoonful after spoonful of water, if needed. It should be a thick paste of soft, dropping consistency.

3. Beat the dal with an electric mixture until it becomes light and fluffy, for at least 3-4 minutes. You needn't add baking soda/powder. To check, put a small amount into a cup of water. If it floats, it's done.

4. Fry the bhalla in medium hot oil for 2-3 minutes. Bhalla doubles in volume when you fry so don't add large amounts of batter into the oil.

5. Once done, drain completely and immediately put them into lukewarm water which has hing and salt dissolved in it. The bhalla absorbs water and becomes very soft. Initially they will float. But once they sink, remove them and squeeze a little. Keep aside.

6. Put them into the dahi mixture for at least 1 hour before serving so that they can absorb dahi. The dahi mixture should not be very thick, otherwise bhalla will not absorb it. I use a little milk to thin down the dahi mixture. It should be of funny consistency, but should coat the back of a spoon.

7. Add a little sugar and salt into the dahi mixture before you put bhalla in it.

01/02/2026

For Sunday dinner, it's usually Chinese food at my place. Today, I made VEG FRIED RICE with HONEY CHILLI CHICKEN. Super easy to make and delicious! Here's the recipe:

1. For the chicken, marinate 500 grams of boneless chicken pieces with 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste and 1 tbsp red chilli paste. Add salt and pepper to taste. Marinate for at least 30 minutes, best if kept overnight.

2. Add 2 tbsp each of plain flour and cornflour and 1 egg white into the chicken. Mix well. Deep fry chicken in hot oil until cooked. Do not add a lot of chicken pieces into the oil. Let the chicken cook for 2-3 minutes before taking out. Cooking time depends upon the cut and the size of pieces. Keep aside.

3. In a separate pan, add 1 tbsp oil. Add 2-3 dried red chillies and stir. Combine 7 tbsp tomato ketchup and 2 tbsp honey. Add this into the pan and cook for 1 minute. Add salt to taste. Combine 1 tbsp cornflour with 4 tbsp chicken stock and add into the pan. Add 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds and stalk of green onion, chopped, around 2 tbsp. Let the sauce thicken. Taste and adjust seasonings. Add fried chicken pieces. Stir to coat well. Serve hot.

01/02/2026

For the second marinade, mix 2 tbsp mustard oil with 1 tsp degi mirchi powder and 1/2 tsp haldi. Add 5 tbsp thick yogurt/hung yogurt (hang yogurt in a muslin cloth for an hour so as to remove the whey), 1 tbsp cornflour, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1/2 tsp black salt, 1 tbsp chat masala, 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste, 1 tsp tandoori/garam masala and 1 tbsp each of chopped green coriander and kasoori methi. Add salt to taste. Add chicken from the first marinade to the second marinade and leave it for 3-4 hours in the refrigerator.

5. Cook the chicken in an oven or microwave convection mode or an electric tandoor until cooked. If you're using an oven, roast at 200 degree Celsius for 15-20 minutes or until cooked. Add the chicken to the makhni gravy. Garnish with a swirl of cream, if you like and chopped coriander leaves. Serve.

If you're using paneer, simply marinate the paneer in the second marinade and cook for not more than 10 minutes. This marinade is for 250 grams of paneer.

Butter Chicken should have a 'makhan jaisi gravy' and not necessarily a 'makhan waali gravy'.

PART 2/2 OF THE RECIPE.

01/02/2026

This is how I make LOW CALORIE BUTTER CHICKEN at my place. Of course one can substitute chicken with paneer to make LOW CALORIE PANEER MAKHANI. Enjoy it without any guilt!

1. In a pressure cooker, add half a cup of water, 5 large sized roughly chopped ripe tomatoes, 1 medium sized roughly chopped onion, 7-9 cloves of garlic, 1 inch piece of ginger, 1 tbsp kasoori methi, 2 green cardamoms, 1/2 inch stick of cinnamon, 2 bay leaves, 2 tbsp each of almonds and chironji (sunflower seeds)/magaz (melon seeds). Better the quality of tomatoes, better shall be the taste of the gravy.

Pressure cook to give one whistle on high flame. Then, keep it on low flame for the next 15-20 minutes. Turn off the flame and let the pressure drop by itself. Cool the mixture a little. Discard bay leaf and cinnamon.

2. Grind the mixture with 1/2 cup of thick yogurt to a very fine paste using some amount of water, if needed. Strain the mixture and grind the residue again with a little water to a smooth paste. Strain again and discard the residue whatsoever left. The gravy must be as smooth and velvety as butter! If the tomatoes you use, aren't tart and ripe, replace yogurt with ready made tomato puree.

3. In a pan, heat 2 tbsp oil/butter. Add 1 tsp of kashmiri mirchi powder/degi mirch and half a spoon of turmeric powder. Saute for 30 seconds. Add the strained gravy. Cover and cook for 15 minutes on low-medium flame, stirring frequently. Remember to stir frequently else the yogurt in the gravy might curdle. Add 3/4th cup of lukewarm milk gradually and give it one boil, stirring constantly. Add salt to taste and 1 tsp sugar. Taste and adjust the gravy as per your liking. Add a little water if you like a thin gravy. Butter chicken has a little sweet and thick gravy. Sprinkle garam masala powder.

4. For the tandoori chicken, marinate 750-800 grams of chicken with 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp degi mirchi powder, 1 tsp salt and 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste. Leave it to marinate for at least 30 minutes.

PART 1/2 OF THE RECIPE.

01/02/2026

Recipe to make MURGH MALAI TIKKA.
1. Marinate 750 grams boneless chicken in 1 tsp each of salt and red chilli powder. Add 2 tbsp lemon juice and 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste and keep in the refrigerator, covered, for atleast 30 minutes.
2. For the second marinade, crack open an egg in a bowl, add 2 tbsp cornflour, 1 tbsp cheese spread, 4 tbsp cream/fresh malai. You can use 2 tbsp each of cream and yogurt, instead, if you want to make the marinade a little tangy and light. Add 1 tsp ginger garlic paste, 1/2 tsp haldi, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tsp chaat masala, 1 tsp garam/tandoori masala, 1 tbsp fresh coriander/kasoori methi leaves. Add salt and red chilli powder as per taste.
3. Drain the chicken so as to remove excess of water from the first marinade. Add the chicken to the second marinade and marinate for 3-4 hours.
4. Roast the chicken in an oven or microwave convection mode or an electric tandoor until cooked. If you're using an oven, roast at 200 degree Celsius for 15-18 minutes. If you have some marinade left, add a little melted butter to the marinade and in the remaining 5 minutes of cooking, baste the chicken using this marinade. To get the tandoori charred effect, hold the wire rack tray directly over your stove until black spots appear on the chicken. Sprinkle lemon juice and chaat masala.

01/02/2026

Alternatively, use 3-5 tbsp of plain cheese spread OR 150 grams of very thick/hung yogurt (Tie the yogurt into a muslin cloth and hang this cloth on a tap and leave it for 3 hours. The water will drain leaving thick curd behind).
5. Combine the cheese and the chocolate custard mixture. It must be a thick smooth mixture and not watery. Pour a little over the set biscuit base.
6. Prerably chill this layer for 10 minutes in the freezer before proceeding further but I am not this patient. Now, soak the biscuits again in the coffee concoction and arrange them as a single layer over the custard, followed by a layer of custard again. Repeat until all your mixture has been used.
7. Cover with a cling wrap and chill in the freezer for 20-30 minutes. Before serving, dust a little cocoa powder over the pudding.

PART 2/2 OF THE RECIPE.

01/02/2026

TIRAMISU has always been an all time favourite dessert at my place. But everytime I make it, there's always a bowlful of dessert left at the end. Why? "Because it's too rich", my family says.

Tiramisu is indeed a sumptuous, rich dessert. The classic recipe states the use of mascarpone, lady fingers and eggs. The former two ingredients are difficult to find at the local market and are expensive too. After a little hit and trial, I learned this unique recipe which makes use of paneer/cottage cheese instead of mascarpone. Lady finger biscuits can be replaced by any biscuits of your choice, of course, cooking is whatever best you can make by using whatever you have!

Here's how I make it:-

1. Prepare a coffee concoction by dissolving 3 tsp coffee in 1/2 cup of lukewarm water. You can add a tsp or two of coffee liquor or rum or vodka or whatever you fancy. The only thing worth keeping in mind is that the concoction should be strong in terms of coffee flavour. You can add a little coffee essence/rum artificial flavoring as well.
2. Soak any plain biscuits of your choice into the prepared coffee concoction for 1 or 2 seconds. Arrange these soaked biscuits on the base of your serving dish, in a single layer. I used plain Parle G. But you can use marie biscuits or digestives or any plain variety. And, the quantity of biscuits needed shall depend upon the dimensions of your serving dish. I used a borosil 1.6L square serving dish and a total of 28 biscuits were used.
3. Heat 4 cups of milk in a saucepan. Dissolve 5 tbsp of custard powder, 2 tbsp skimmed milk powder, 1 tbsp cocoa powder and 1 tsp coffee powder in 1/4 cup of cold milk and add this slurry to the boiling milk while stirring continously. Let it come to a gentle boil. Add sugar to taste. Cook for another 5 minutes on a very low flame. Remove from fire and cool completely.
4. In a blender, blend 150 grams of fresh paneer using very little milk to form a smooth paste. Rub the paste between your thumb and finger. It mustn't feel grainy. It should be a thick smooth paste.

PART 1/2 OF THE RECIPE.

01/02/2026

RAILWAY MUTTON CURRY was developed by the chefs of the Indian Railways during the British Raj keeping in mind the delicate palates of the British people. It was first introduced on the Frontier Mail (Golden Temple Mail) run by the Western Railway during pre-independence era. This milder version of the classic mutton curry was not too spicy yet an amazing fusion dish blending the taste of both Indian and English spices. The Railway Mutton Curry was served with rice, bread or dinner rolls. Here's the recipe:

1. Roast 1 tsp cumin seeds, 2 tsp fennel seeds (saunf), 2 tsp coriander seeds, 3 green cardamom pods, 3 cloves, 2 tsp black peppercons, 3-5 dried kashmiri red chillies and one fourth of an inch piece of cinnamon together until fragrant. Cool a little and then grind into a fine powder.
2. Puree 3 large fresh tomatoes. Marinate your mutton in 1/4th cup of fresh yogurt, 2 tsp ginger and garlic paste and a tsp each of turmeric and red chilli powder. Add 2 tsp of salt. I've used 500 grams of mutton for this recipe.
3. Heat 5-6 tbsp of mustard oil in a pressure cooker. Add a bay leaf. Wait for 30 seconds. Add 1 large onion which has been finely chopped. Saute until the onions turns golden brown. Add 1 tsp of ginger and garlic paste. Saute for a minute. Add tomato puree. Cool until dry and oil separates.
4. Sprinkle a little water and lower down the flame. Add 1/4th cup of smooth whisked yogurt and stir constantly. Cook until oil separates again.
5. Add the powdered spices. Add 1/2 tsp of powdered sugar. Mix well. Now add the mutton and saute on high flame for 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Cook until mutton looks light brown and masala dries up. Add 2 peeled potatoes, which have been cut into 8 pieces each.
6. Add 2-3 cups of water. Pressure cook for 20-30 minutes after the first whistle on low flame. The time of cooking shall depend upon the quality of the mutton.
7. Check for the seasonings. Sprinkle freshly chopped coriander leaves. Grate a little fresh nutmeg. Serve hot.

01/02/2026

EGGLESS BANANA CAKE RECIPE

Note:-

All the measurements are made using a glass/cup which holds approximately 200mL of liquid.

Baking ingredients should preferably be at room temperature. Make all the measurements very precisely.

Always pre heat your oven before you start baking.

Baking tin must be greased well with oil/butter on all the sides. Sprinkle a few tbsps of plain flour and tap the tin so that the flour coats all the greased surfaces of the tin. Invert the tin and tap off the excess of flour.

Never fill your tin upto the top. The cake will rise during baking so do not fill more than 3/4th of the tin.

Prefer not to use very deep baking tin.

Use over ripe bananas for this recipe for best results.

To check if the cake is done, insert a skewer/tooth pick at the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean, your cake's ready.

Never cool your cake under a running fan.

1. Beat together 1/2 tin of condensed milk (200 grams) with 50 grams of unsalted butter until creamy. Butter should be at room temperature and neither too hard or too soft.

2. Add 75 grams of fresh yogurt and mix well using a whisk.

3. Sieve together 2 cups of plain flour (maida), 1/2 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp baking powder in a bowl.

4. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients alongwith 2 mashed bananas. Mix well with light hands. Do not beat vigorously.

5. Pour the batter into a 6 inches diameter baking tin and bake at 160 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Sprinkle chopped almonds/walnuts on the cake batter before baking, if desired. Cool to room temperature before de moulding the cake.

01/02/2026

Let's make BOONDI/MOTICHOOR LADOOS at home!

1. In a bowl mix together 2 cups of besan, a pinch of orange-red food colour alongwith enough water to make a thick but free flowing batter. The amount of water needed shall depend upon the coarseness of besan.

2. Heat oil/ghee in a kadhai. The kadhai must be filled not more than half, with oil and make sure that the kadhai doesn't have a shallow bottom. Preferably, use ghee.

Now using a spatula with holes, make boondi. Hold the spatula over the kadhai at some height. Pour the batter over the spatula and using the back of the spoon, press the batter against the spatula so that batter falls through the holes into the oil.

Use a spatula with very fine holes or use a sieve. If the boondi in the kadhai has a tail/tapering end, your batter is too thick. Fry the boondi until it is crisp and golden. Remove from oil and keep aside.

3. In the meanwhile, heat 350 grams of sugar and 350 grams of water alongwith 2 crushed whole green cardamoms. You can add saffron strands too. Add a teaspoon of milk. Boil the sugar syrup just it is about to reach one string consistency. Remove from a fire. Dip the boondi, in small quantities, in the hot syrup and let it absorb the syrup. If the syrup is too thick, boondi will not absorb the syrup. The syrup must remain hot so that the syrup goes inside the boondi. Drain the boondi very well, using a sieve, from the syrup and remove on a plate. Cool a little and form ladoos.

Note: If you do not have a sieve or a spatula with tiny holes, use whatever spatula is available. After frying, crush the boondi a little before dipping it into the syrup.

If the ladoo doesn't form, follow the following tips:
1. Use ghee for frying the boondi. When boondi cools, the ghee solidifies and helps in binding the ladoo.
2. If the ladoo mixture doesn't bind, crush the boondi a little with hands, to aid in binding. Add a little more sugar syrup if the mixture appears dry, spoonful by spoonful, until the mixture comes together.

01/02/2026

Try making this magnificent dessert and share your experience. ALMOND AND CARAMEL MOUSSE is relished by everyone in my family. If you are a vegetarian, replace each egg, used in the recipe, with 1.5 tsp of custard powder.

1. Separate 3 eggs carefully. Put the egg whites in a clean dry bowl. Whisk egg yolks with 2 tbsp custard powder and 7 tbsp powdered sugar. Add 4 cups of milk and cook on low medium flame, stirring continously, until the mixture just begins to boil. Stirring is important else the custard will settle and stick to the bottom of the pan and burn. Keep aside and cool.
2. Soak 3 tsp gelatine powder in 4 tbsp water. Substitue with china grass or agar agar powder, if you're a vegetarian. 4 tsp of gelatine is equivalent to 10 grams of china grass. Now, on very slow flame, dissolve the gelatine. Do not boil. If you're using china grass, use 1/2 cup of water and give the mixture one gentle boil.
3. Add the gelatine mixture into the cooled custard. Keep it in the freezer for 15-20 minutes until it is almost set.
4. Now, add 250 grams of whipped cream into the set custard. Check for sugar and add more, if needed.
5. To make the almond praline, melt 1/4th cup of granulated sugar in a pan until it becomes golden brown. Do not stir. Simply swirl the pan to ensure even melting. Add 1/2 cup of chopped almonds. Stir to coat well. Remove it on a greased plate and let it cool completely. Be careful, caramel is very hot and you can burn yourself.
6. Break the praline into coarse crumbs. Mix it into the pudding.
7. Beat the egg whites with a hand mixer till they form soft peaks. Make sure that the blades of the mixer are absolutely dry. Fold in the egg whites gently into the pudding.
8. Chill in the fridge for 4-6 hours. Before serving, put it in the freezer for 5-7 minutes. Serve.

01/02/2026

CHICKEN BIRYANI

INGREDIENTS:-
1. 2.5 CUPS BASMATI RICE
2. 1 INCH CINNAMON STICK
3. 3 BLACK CARDAMOMS
4. 6 GREEN CARDAMOMS
5. 1 BAY LEAF
6. 4 CLOVES
7. 4 MEDIUM-SIZED ONIONS-CHOPPED FINELY
8. 4 TOMATOES-CHOPPED
9. 8-9 TBSP. GHEE OR CLARIFIED BUTTER
10. 1/2 CUP YOGHURT
11. SALT AND RED CHILLI POWDER TO TASTE
12. 1 TSP. GARAM MASALA
13. 1 TSP GREEN CARDAMOM POWDER
14. 750-800 GRAMS CHICKEN WITH BONES
15. 2 TBSP. GINGER-GARLIC PASTE
16. CHOPPED FRESH MINT/CORIANDER LEAVES
17. 2 LARGE ONIONS-SLICED THINLY AND FRIED TILL GOLDEN BROWN
METHOD:
1. Wash rice several times to remove the excess starch. Soak for 15 minutes. Boil rice with whole spices and salt till almost done (75 percent cooked). Drain and separate the grains with a fork. Reserve 1/2 cup of rice stock.
2. Marinate the chicken in yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, red chilli powder and salt for atleast 30 minutes.
3. Heat 5-6 tbsp ghee in a big karahi. Add onions and saute for 10-12 minutes on medium heat till they attain light brown colour. Add marinated chicken and cook over high heat till yogurt dries and oil begins to separate. Add tomatoes. Continue cooking for another 5 minutes over high flame or until tomatoes turn mushy. Add 1/2 cup of water. Cover with a lid and cook the chicken for 10-15 minutes over low flame or until the chicken gets cooked through. Check for tenderness. If a lot of water remains, dry the masala on high flame. We need a little, and not too much, of curry. Sprinkle garam masala powder.
4. To assemble biryani, spread a layer of semi dry chicken curry inside a karahi. Add a layer of rice. Sprinkle fried onions and chopped green coriander/mint. Repeat the procedure until the rice and chicken is used. Sprinkle elaichi powder and chopped mint/coriander leaves. Sprinkle rice stock and fried onions. You may also soak saffron in some warm milk and add to the biryani. Add the remaining ghee. Cover loosely with a foil and keep it on the lowest possible flame for 15-20 minutes. Keep it on a hot pan/tawa preferably and not over the direct flame. Serve.

Scalpel and Spice by Manik Kaushal

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