Make your 2020 valentine's day special with Zoomin

It's the start of the month February and the thing which pops in everyone's mind during this month is Valentine's day.It's the season filled with love in the air,flowers everywhere,chocolates in the tummy and loads of gifts.Whether your a lovebird or riding solo , February is a month of celebration of love.Gone are the days where Valentine's day was just for love birds , if your single and feel that valentine's day isn't for you ,your wrong ,it doesn't have  to be a romantic thing  , you also can celebrate this special day with  any of your close ones be it your your pals ,parents,anyone you have a close special bond with or even with yourself ,after all self-love is the best ,nothing beats it.Everyone loves gifts and  there are several things you can gift but let's try and gift something memorable this year.Nowadays everyone has a hectic schedule that pre-planning is kind of hard .This year let's give thoughtful gifts ,which becomes a tangible memory for them.Remember the time we used to wait so hard for our photos to get printed from the older version of the camera from the roll.After the evolution of mobile phones,printing photos has reduced drastically , these days photos are saved in the phones and there are thousands of photos which make it hard to scroll down and see each time and sometimes it can get deleted too and it cannot be recovered( has happened to me ,sucks ,have lost many beautiful memories).The feeling of having a print out version of the photo you have in your phone is amazing ,it just brings out memories bursting spontaneously and it would also make a great gift for your loved one.Though a few companies have started doing this , my personal favorite is Zoomin , they have their own app in Apple and Android , website  www.zoomin.com and also they are in instagram @zoominstories . They print photos in the best quality at such an affordable rate without pinching your pocket and the best part is they have express delivery too.It is so easy you just have to select what pictures you want printed along with the type of finish you want matte or glossy,the size and thats it and you can have your photo printbook ready or you could even frame it , you can also print your pictures in calenders, magnets,bag tags,mugs. So get creative this year and express your love to your dear ones. Zoomin has launched their All about love gift box which consists of a 4'*4'' metal print ,1 scented candle,150gms of almond florentine chocolate from Vivanda,100gms of chocolate oatmeal & cranberrry oatmeal cookies from Brown Salt Bakery , 4 sachets of pumpkin spice latte from Sleepy Owl and each box is beautiflly wrapped with a V-day card.The box retails for Rs.1799.This is such a fun innovative idea to gift someone or even spoil and pamper yourself ;) .P.S Order it soon , its February 4th already and they will deliver it within 10days of the day ,the order was placed ,so just in time for V-day.Great news which you shouldnt miss is that  you get flat 35% off on any product you choose from their entire store , along with Rs.400 PayPal cashback, if you use the code LOVESTORY .
Will be sharing few pictures of the hardcover photobook I had got from Zoomin with some sweet memories along with each picture.

Front view of the hardcover photobook (PLENTY of designs to choose from)

Family shopping time together ❤️❤️❤️

Cutting cake together for our Clinic anniversary

Christmas shopping 

Graduating BDS

Jaipur trip

First photoshoot of me in our clinic with dad

BAby me and the me now

Last page

Anddd Happy Valentine's day in advance :)

Oatmeal fudge bars

Ingredients

1 cup butter,softened
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 +1/2 cups flour
3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder

Fudge layer:
14 ounces condensed milk
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

Whisk together flour,baking soda,salt and cinnamon.Beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy for nearly 2 minutes.Add eggs one at a time beating for 1 minute after each egg addition.Beat in the vanilla and add the dry ingredient mixture and mix until combined.Stir in the oats.Set aside nearly 1+1/2 to 2 cups of this mixture.Spread  the rest on a greased baking pan and prepare the fudge layer.

Fudge layer:

In a saucepan add condensed milk,chocolate chips and butter.Heat over low heat,stirring continuously just until the chocolate is melted and other ingredients are combined.Pour the warm fudge mixture over the top of oatmeal layer in the baking pan.
Drop small bits of the reserved oatmeal mixture evenly over the fudge layer.Don't try to spread it,dropping it creates a open lacy pattern allowing the fudge to show through.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 25 to 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the chocolate layer is dull and starting to come away from the sides of the pan.Cool on counter for 2 hours and then refrigerate for 1 more hour before cutting it into pieces.

Stuffed potato buns

I made the buns using half of the quantity mentioned in the recipe below so I got 5 to 6 buns.

Ingredients:

For the bun:

3 cups all purpose flour(maida)

2 teaspoons dry active yeast

3 tablespoons butter

3/4 teaspoon salt

1+1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup lukewarm water

2 tablespoons sugar

For the stuffing:

2 potatoes, boiled

2 teaspoons oil

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 onion,chopped

1 teaspoon red chilli powder

1/2 teaspoon tumeric(haldi) powder

1 green chilli,chopped finely

Salt to taste

2 tablespoons coriander leaves ,chopped finely

Method:

Heat water till lukewarm and add yeast and sugar , mix well and let it stay till it froths up.

 

Now heat the milk till lukewarm and add salt and butter and mix well.

 

Add the yeast mixture to the milk-butter mixture and stir well , add in flour little by little and keep mixing to form a dough.

 

Knead well for 10 minutes and place in a greased bowl and cover with a slightly wet cloth.Place the dough in a warm area till it doubles.In the meantime while the dough rises , the filling can be prepared. Roughly mash the potatoes with a masher or a fork.

 

Heat oil and then add cumin,when it splutters add the green chilli and onion.After a minute add tumeric powder,roughly mashed potatoes,red chilli powder and salt.Mix well and the add the coriander leaves.By this time the dough would have risen and doubled in size.

                             

                                

Make medium sized balls of the dough , flatten it  and put the stuffing and wrap it up.Arrange them in a greased baking tray and leave it to double again.

                                       

Bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C for 20 to 25 minutes.

Nankhatai

Makes nearly 8 to 10 nankhatais. Next I make these I will double the quantity :D coz they were very yum and softer than the nankhatais made of butter.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup flour

1/4 cup powdered sugar

Pinch of bicarbonate soda(baking soda)

1/3 cup of ghee(clarified butter) + little powdered cardamom

Method:

Sieve together both flour and bicarbonate soda .In another bowl beat sugar,ghee and cardamom.Add sieved flour little by little to form a dough.Make small flattened balls and place them on a greased baking tray. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C for nearly 20 minutes.

Rava (semolina) ladoo

Makes nearly 20 ladoos

Ingredients:

1 cup rava (sooji or semolina)
3/4 cup sugar (can add 1 or 2 tablespoons extra if you prefer it to be more sweeter)
1/4 cup ghee (clarified butter)
1 cardamom(elachi)
1 tablespoon milk (optional , I skipped it coz sprinkling milk makes it's shelf life less)
8 to 10 cashewnuts( I skipped this)

Method:

Dry roast the rava till a nice aroma comes ,making sure not to burn it by continuously stirring it.Roast it evenly and let it cool down,after that grind it into a very fine powder using a mixer.Powder the sugar into a fine powder too along with the cardamom.Transfer the powdered rava and powdered sugar to a large bowl .Before that if you want you can sieve both together to get a smooth finish ladoo. Fry broken cashews in a tablespoon of ghee and slightly heat the rest of the ghee and add it to the rava and sugar mixture.If wanted sprinkle milk and mix thoroughly.Make small balls and adjust the ghee and milk quantity by sprinkling more if it is too dry.

Soya paratha

Ingredients:

For the parathas:

2 cups wheat flour, and some for dusting

1 cup water

Salt to taste

1 teaspoon ghee(clarified butter)+ extra ghee for cooking the parathas

For the filling:

1 cup soya granules,soaked (If granules is not available then soya chunks can be made into granules by using a mixer)

1 onion,chopped

3 green chillies,chopped finely

1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder

1/4 teaspoon crushed black pepper corns or pepper powder

1+1/2 teaspoon coriander powder

Salt to taste

1 teaspoon crushed cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon dried mango powder (amchur) or chaat masala (optional)

1 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves

Method:

Dough :

   Mix flour and a little salt in a bowl , add sufficient water and knead into a dough.Apply 1 teaspoon ghee on the dough,cover it and leave it to rest for some time.

Filling:

  Place soaked soya granules in another bowl, add onion,green chillies,red chilli powder,crushed black peppercorns,salt,coriander powder,crushed cumin seeds,amchur or chaat masala (if using) and finally coriander leaves and mix well.

Parathas:

   Heat a tawa(pan) and divide the dough into equal portions and shape them into balls.Shape each ball into a small bowl and place little of the soya filling mixture ,gather the edges ,seal and shape into a ball again.Further roll into parathas dusting with a little dry flour.Cook the paratha on the hot tawa,turning sides and applying little ghee ,till both sides turn golden brown.Serve hot with yoghurt,salad,gravy or any raita.

   

   

Beef noodle soup

Ingredients:

2 cups boneless beef, cut into small pieces
1 onion ,chopped
2 teaspoons ginger-garlic paste
4 black peppercorns,crushed
4 cloves
2 star anise
Pepper powder, as required
1 carrot,peeled and grated or chopped
2 spring onions,chopped
115 g  rice vermicelli noodles
3 litres water
Salt, as required

Method:

Boil beef in water along with onion,ginger-garlic paste,peppercorns,clove,star anise & a pinch of salt.Allow it to simmer until the beef is cooked.Discard the flavouring ingredients.Add carrot & spring onion and cook.Add the noodles along with it and cook till it is soft or cook the noodles separately  in boiling water and strain it and add to the beef mixture and mix well and sprinkle it with pepper powder.