Well I guess this saggubiyyam payasam finally had to come out today. I have procrastinated this post for almost more than a year and finally today I have been so held up with things that I couldn't anything new for the last day of the Marathon. All the members were keen on posting a sweet and I can't be the only spoil sport. So this Payasam, which had been in draft finally got life!
Sagubiyam or Sago or sabudan, is something that Amma makes a payasam very frequently. I have never cooked with it. All the time, it has always been Amma who makes a payasam with it. I always love to chew on the sago while eating the payasam.
Will the picture may not be so classic, maybe I will cook it again and change but for now, I am happy that this makes the grand finale of this non stop running for the Marathon. This one month has been a good experience knowing all the new bloggers through this marathon. It has been hectic because I had to literally cook new dishes for all the posts as I had finally decided to do on weekly theme. But how ironical that for the final day I couldn't cook any new ones. Anyway I am not very keen on sweets, so this payasam with lots of childhood memories, makes it a fitting one!
I must thank DK for inviting me for this Marathon. To the Marathon runners, its been great knowing you all! Though I couldn't drop in to comment on all your posts, I did manage to read most of them. Will read them again in leisure and enjoy. But you girls have done a great job! So many wonderful dishes.
Do remember that Rice Mela ends on Nov 30th, so do rush with your entries. I will be doing a round up by the second week of December!
Ingredients Needed:
Sago - 1 cup Milk - 2 & 1/2 cup Sugar 0 1 & 1/2 cup Cardamom a pinch Nuts for garnish. Water - 1 cup
Method to prepare:
Wash and boil the sago in water. Drain. Then heat a thick bottom pan with milk, When it boils up, add sugar. Allow it to melt.
Once its all melted, add the cooked sago. Simmer for 15 mins. Add cardamom and remove after 5 mins.
Serve hot!
Check my fellow runners reaching the finals in the marathon!
For the past two dinners, its been chiki buva at home. Well that's what Chinnu says for Chicken, The moment he sees me cooking something, he assumes that I am going to make chicken and does not budge from my side. And now he has even started recognize it when its cooking. He gets so interested that even when we try to pull him away, he won't move. I had wanted to make this variety for a long time, since Amma told that hubby dear used to like this Chicken Varuval, a lot when she was making it for him, during our initial years of marriage. I guess she just forgot to pass the recipe to me. She made it the other day and told me that he used to like it a lot. So naturally I have to make it again.
When hubby dear saw the marinated chicken, he was impressed. He said it looks very good, and had a tough time getting Chinnu away from the scene. Though the recipe is very simple, it takes about 15 - 20 mins marinating and then slow cooking of about 20 - 30 mins. So he felt it was time consuming, but I don't think so, seeing the end result on how it was received. Peddu never eats chicken, but surprisingly seeing Chinnu eat, he also wanted to taste. After that they was no going back. So much so that the next day when I again went to the kitchen, Peddu came running saying Chikki, chikki. I made another new variety, which unfortunately didn't click pictures. So just have the Chicken Varuval to share.
Dry roast the spices under dry powder. Grind to a smooth powder once its cooled.
Then apply this spice powder with salt to the chicken. Marinate for 15 to 20 mins.
Heat a pan with oil, add clove, fennel seeds and cardamom. Then add chopped onions, fry till its brown. Then add the chopped tomatoes, cook for 2 mins.
Stir in the marinated chicken. Cook on high for 2 mins. Simmer and cover it with lid, cook till the water evaporates. When the water is almost evaporated, add the grated coconut and again cook with covered lid, till the chicken becomes dry. This takes about 20 mins for the chicken to become tender.
When you are removing from the stove, add silted chillies, juliennes ginger and finely chopped coriander leaves.
Check my fellow runners still running steadily for the marathon!
When the Cooker announced JFI theme on Carrots, I knew what I had to cook. I was only happy that I finally was able to make it. This carrot chutney was something we knew for a long time and used to pair with Coconut Puris. The combination is a terrific one and it can't be compared. I remember first eating it during college and then yes, Amma used to make sometime. The chutney is not sweet at all because of the carrots but with the hot spice infused by the green and red chillies, its enough to make it hot enough.
The rains are still lashing away and the heart breaking news of Mumbai attack left us stunned. We could do nothing but carry on with our usual routine. I went to office in drizzling rains, but flooded roads. The corporation tried its best to clear but the city is hapless to this onslaught of rains! The cyclone is also very fancily named as Nisha, which supposedly crossed this morning, but we still felt the after effect.
Ingredients Needed:
Carrot, grated - 1 cup Coconut, grated - 1/2 cup Tomatoes - 1 medium Green Chillies - 3 Red chillies - 4-5 Bengal gram - 1 tsp Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp Asofoetida a pinch Curry leaves few Salt to taste Oil - 1 tsp
Method to prepare:
Grate Carrot, chop green chilies, tomatoes. Heat little oil, saute carrot till the raw smell leaves, then add the chopped chillies, then tomatoes till soft.
Then saute the red chilies, along with bengal gram till its brown. Once cool, grind together the carrots, tomatoes, chilies and bengal grams along with fresh coconut.
Temper with mustard seeds and curry leaves. Serve this with Dosas or Coconut Puris.
Sending this to The Cooker who wants us to cook Carrots for JFI, an event started by Indira.
Its been raining cats and dogs since last night. The AC was switched off in favor of the cool breeze that was coming in. And when it was morning, I didn't' even feel it was already dawn, as it was still very dark and everybody at home still slumbering very deeply. I opened up to a morning that was very chill and rain still lashing away. Schools and Colleges were declared holiday, but Konda was insisting I call her friend's Mom to confirm. Though it was still raining when it was time for the boys to leave, we thought we would send them. They simply enjoyed getting out in the rain, Peddu was trying to say eellu eelu referring to water. Athamma went to drop them in the school and came back to say that they enjoyed the ride.
All the way to office, it was still raining and though the stagnant water at most places were dirty, I enjoyed the rain. The office was empty other than handful of them and generally didn't feel like a busy day. I somehow spent the day off, to hurry back home. We have the Cyclone, which is expected to be for tomorrow too. But the cyclone wasn't really bad as expected.
Coming to today's recipe, as I said I have exhausted all Rice based dishes. So had to think of something else.
Ingredients Needed:
Capsicum - 1 medium Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp Cumin Seeds - 1/4 tsp Onion - 1 medium Tomato - 1 medium Ginger Garlic paste - 1/2 tsp Chili powder - 1 tsp Coriander powder - 1 tsp Turmeric powder a pinch Coconut paste - 2 tsp Groundnut powder - 2 tsp Coriander leaves for garnish Salt to taste Oil - 1 tsp
Method to prepare:
Heat oil in a kadai, splutter mustard and jeera. Then saute onions till pink. Add ginger garlic paste and saute till its brown.
Then add the Capsicum and simmer for 5 mins with lid. Then add the chopped tomatoes and the spice powders and salt. Simmer again for 15 mins, till the capsicum are tender.
Then add 1 cup water and bring to boil. Stir in the coconut paste and groundnut powder, combine all well and simmer again for 5 - 10 mins.
When the gravy is thick enough, garnish with coriander leaves and remove.
How would you feel meeting a friend after many years? I know I would be excited. The same excitement was bubbling in me, since the time Amma told me that her school friend is coming to meet her. Parents are moving to another place, this time another country! When Amma called up her friend to convey this news, her friend's husband booked the tickets without even telling her. So it was such a wonderful news for Amma and me of course, since I know how much this friend means to Amma. They studied together in school. And as things always happened they lost track of each other and only got to speak to each other a year ago. But Amma always used to tell me about the glorious time spent together and their friendship actually meant what friendship would mean. I always used to tell Amma that we should try to trace them again. And she used to get that mystical look in her eyes!
When Amma told me that her friend is coming down to meet her, I know how happy she was, that she was finally meeting her friend. When Dad and Mom went to pick them up from the station, we were waiting for Konda's van. Peddu seeing his ammamma and Thatha leaving, started crying to go with them. We got him home, after lot of cajoling, but he continued saying he wants to go till he went to school. It was wonderful meeting Amma's friend and her husband. Uncle was very humorous and witty and Aunty was so very sweet, just as Amma always used to tell. I stayed back for a while, talking to them. Uncle was telling how he wanted to see the reunion of the friends, but Aunty was restless and got down the train before he could get the luggage. And she recognize Amma before Amma could. Back home, she happily recollected the days during their childhood and I was getting all mushy hearing it. She showed us the picture of her children and grandchild. They spent the day at home with Amma, and the couple of times I called up, Amma sounded very thrilled. I know this is going to mean the epitome of friendship to me. Amma went to drop them in their relatives place and came when it was raining.
I offered these delicious Pakodas when Amma dropped in home. Its been raining heavily since evening and when I came back home, Athamma had Pakodas ready with Rice Flour. Peddu loved it so much that I had to prepare them again. Then Konda came and wanted some, so I ended making three batches of these lovely Onion and Potato Pakodas in Rice Flour. Though I have always added Rice flour in pakodas, this is the first time, making it with just that!
Ingredients Needed:
Rice Flour - 1 cup (I used a small one) Fried Gram Flour - 2 tsp (this is not besan) Onions - 1 medium Potatoes -1 medium Green Chilies - 1 - 2 Cooking Soda - 1/4 tsp Salt to taste Chili powder - 1/4 tsp ( if its for you, add more) Oil for deep frying
Method to prepare:
Have the oil in a Kadai in sim. For Onions,
Meanwhile, take Rice flour in a bowl, add salt, soda, chili powder, finely chopped chilies and add very little water to get a thick batter, it should be stiff. Shape them and drop them into hot oil.
Once cooked on both sides, drain.
For Potatoes
Peel and slice the potatoes to very thin slices. Make a batter with rice flour, salt, fried gram flour, soda to a batter thats little thin but enough to coat the potatoes.
Once the oil is hot enough, gently slide these and fry on both sides. Once cooked, drain them to a kitchen towel to remove excess oil.
It was simply delicious, you can spice it up with more chili powder or ginger garlic paste or even cumin powder. It would taste awesome!
Well having decided on Rice items for this week, sure has me in a fix! Have been breaking my head for rice dishes not using the whole rice as such. Now this is really a tough job, when I think that we South Indians, atleast can't think of rice without actually having it as such for lunch and dinner! Hubby dear, for one, sure used to love rice. For him, if I don't make rice for a meal, he used to feel it was incomplete! Thank God, he has come out of that zone, now he can't think of eating rice at nights. We sure have come a long way when we think of our attachment to rice and its varieties. But yes, it does feel good to dig into a well done biryani.
In my quest to get the perfect biryani as its in my dear hubby's mind, had me referring quite a lot of cookbooks to get the perfect one! He says I have done it, but not sure if I can meet his memories of childhood fantasy! I am sure if that place can't for now! That's the hold our memories have on us right! Anyway this version of yet another type, was good to enjoy on a Sunday lunch. It sure was tasty, though its been a while since I made this!
Ingredients Needed:
Basmati Rice - 450 gms Chicken - 500 gms Onions - 100 gms Tomato - 50 - 60 gms Mint leaves - a few springs Ghee - 100 gms Coriander leaves - 1/4 bunch Ginger - 5 gms Green Chilis - 5 gms Garlic - 3 flakes Curds - 225 gms Red Chili powder - 1 & 1/2 tsp Turmeric a pinch Cardamom, Cloves, Cinnamon - 5 gms Bay leaf - 1 Shahi Jeera - 1/4 tsp
Roasted Cashew - 8 - 10 whole
Method to prepare:
Wash, cut the chicken into small pieces. Chop the onions, coriander and mint.
Grind the ginger, garlic, chilies into a fine paste.
Heat ghee and add shahi jeera, Cardamom, Cloves, Cinnamon, Bay leaf, then saute onions till golden brown. Then add the ground masala, chili powder, turmeric powder, mint and coriander leaves, Fry for 2 mins. Then add the chopped tomato and fry till it becomes soft.
Once its well done, add the chicken pieces. Brown it for 2 mins, then add 1 cup water, curds and cook with lid for 10 - 15 mins, till you get a thick gravy.
Remove the lid and add the rice with 1 & 1/2 cup water. Simmer for another 10 mins.
Once the 10 mins is done, remove and gently stir. Garnish with finely chopped coriander and roasted Cashews.
Having decided to prepare dishes with rice, I couldn't think of anything different than the Rice varieties. While discussing it with Athamma, she asked if we have done Biyam Roti, Biyam Vadiyalu, everything is already done. Then she asked if I have posted Biyam Upma. When I was excited hearing a upma with rice, she said she used to make this during hubby dear was young.
This one turned out yummy, same good as the regular upma with Rava, if not better.
Ingredients Needed
Rice – 1 cup Onions chopped – 1 cup Green chilies – 2 long Water – 2 & 1/2 cups Salt to taste Ghee - 2 tbsp
For Seasoning:
Mustered – ¼ spoons Channa dal – 1 spoon Urad dal – ½ spoon Curry leaves – 5 to 6 Cashew Nuts for topping. Oil – 1 tbsp Peanuts - 1 tbsp (opt)
Method to prepare:
Run the Rice in mixer till its coarsely ground. Then roast the rice in Ghee for 5 mins. Once its done, remove and keep it aside.
Add oil to the tawa, when it is hot, add the mustard and let it splutter. Then add curry leaves, chopped chillies, Bengal gram and cashew nuts. Let it fry for 2 mins.
Now add water and salt, cover with lid. Bring it to boil.
When the water starts boiling, sim it and add the roasted rice slowly so that lumps are not formed.
Add Ghee around the tawa. Cover it again and let it get cooked for 5 mins. Remove the lid and again add ghee around the borders. Mix well and let it rest covered for another 5 mins.
It started to drizzle again when I started back home. It was pouring a while ago and seeing a lull, I thought I should get going. Not that I would mind getting drenched. I simply loved doing that. Back home, I saw the boys were doing little better but again the cough got worse during the night. After a hurried call to the doctor, gave them medicine and got them sleeping, It was almost raining the whole night, with heavy thunder and lightning during the wee hours! They both were so bored staying at home yesterday, that they jumped on hearing school, so we got them ready and they happily went off in the Auto. And the fact that Athamma was going with them, they knew they will get the Gems as treat (get the gems link)
When I started to office, it was still drizzling and it was a wonderful feeling riding through it. The bridge that I have to pass, was empty and zooming down was a excelerating feeling, with the cold, chill, rain kissed breeze hitting my face, I felt I was literally flying! Though there are so many wonderful memories associated with rains, one hilarious incident came to mind and I was giggling thinking of that day! It happened many winters ago and in that night, it was pretty late when I was getting back home from work. I had to stay back for some release and it was beyond 10 pm. The roads were empty and it had rained heavily. I was, as usual, riding slow to enjoy the chill wind. But when I crossed the bridge, I saw a big pool of stagnant water. I normally never wade through the dirty water. But that night, something trickled me and within seconds, I was zooming away. In that hurry, knowing the roads were empty I didn't bother about the water splashing other sides. But just as luck would have, another two-wheeler passed me right then and was fully drenched with dirty water, when I was zooming! Though I know it was bad, I couldn't help laughing and zooming even faster, as he started chasing me! It was hardly that I did on intension but whatever, I was not ready to argue. Within few mins, he lost me and I was still laughing away when I reached home. Naturally I haven't confessed to anybody.
Coming to today's post, its going to be my most all time favorite in Rice varieties, the famous Pulihora. I can have it anytime of the day. And its mostly my Saturday lunch. This version of pulihora is made with Sesame seeds and tastes simply too great! I normally don't' make this way, but its quite famous in Andhra.
Ingredients needed:
Cooked rice - 3 cups (300 gms) Tamarind - size of a lemon. Red chillies - 10 Green chillies - 3 Bengal Gram - 1 tbsp Urud Dal - 1 tsp Ground Nut - 2 tbsp Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp Curry Leaves - 1 Asafoetida - a pinch Salt as per taste Oil - 150 ml
For powder
Sesame Seeds - 1 & 1/2 tbsp Red Chillies or Green Chillies - 2 nos
Method to prepare:
Soak tamarind in water for 30 mins. Extract thick pulp from it.
Cook rice and spread it over a big bowl. Add oil to make sure the grains are separate.
Dry roast the Sesame seeds and Chilies and grind it to a powder once it is cool.
Take a kadai, heat oil and add Bengal gram, Urud dal, Ground nuts, mustard seeds. Once it splutters, add curry leaves, asafoetida.
Add the tamarind pulp to the above, salt, add required amount of water to boil. Once its boiled well add the powder and cook well for 10 mins on sim.
Once the mix starts coming out from the sides, remove and mix to the rice well. This tastes great when it rests for some hours.
Normally I make it in the morning for the lunch.
This is for my Rice Mela Event, hope you are having your entries ready!
Not sure if its the climate or what, but this cough and cold bug never seems to be out of home for long. The boys have it again since yesterday and it feels terrible seeing them struggling to sleep. During the night it seems to become worse, they came back home early yesterday from school and didn't go to school today. They make sure all of us are their beck and call. Not that we mind, but they become so cranky, crying and generally being spoil sport. After a nap, you will be amazed to see a new look, it would seem as if they never cried!
While coming to today's dish, this was an attempt to replace tomatoes in our cooking. With the prizes so high, we don't want to be a victim of the whims and fancies of the middle men! Thought we could always replace it with rangy tamarind and see how different it will turn out to be. It did turn out delicious and I think we can experiment with many other dishes too.
More reference, this goes by the botanical name Dolichos lablab L (I have to confess I felt so stupid that this was that), English - Hyacinth bean, Hindi - Bhaja vasu, Telugu - Anumulu, Tamil - Avarai, Kannada - Anvare.
Ingredients Needed:
Anapakayallu / Mocha - 1/2 cup Potatoes - 2 small Onion -2 medium Tamarind pulp - 1 lemon size Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp Coconut - 4 tbsp Salt to taste Oil - 2 tsp Chilli powder - 1 tsp Coriander powder - 1 tsp Turmeric powder a pinch Garam Masala - 1 tsp Coriander leaves for garnish
Method to prepare:
Pressure cook the mocha for 3 whistles and then add the potatoes and cook till tender. Once its cooled, cube potatoes into medium size pieces.
Soak tamarind in water for 10 mins, then extract the pulp.
Chop Onions roughly and make a paste. Make a smooth paste of coconut.
Then add all the powders and simmer for 5 mins. Add the potatoes and mocha. Saute for 5 mins. Once done add the tamarind pulp. Bring to boil. Finally add the coconut paste. Add required water. Bring to boil and simmer for 2 mins with lid covered.
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
The taste was very different with tamarind being added, but was delicious too!
Sundays don't feel complete if its not Pooris for breakfast. With the pooris, the channa makes an appearance every other week. This gives me a perfect chance to try out the different recipes I have for Channa. The punjabichhole, the south indianchanna, or the channamasala. Added to this, is the fact that the kids look forward to a poori session, making it all the more encouraging. Twins somehow know its going to be poori, and they linger under my foot with plates, saying poodipooodi. They look so adorable, pouting their lips to say poori. Chinnu even loves to eat the Channa. They wait impatiently for their puffed up pooris. So this sunday, the moment they saw me in the kitchen rolling out pooris, they took out their plates and started saying pooodipoodi.
Before having the breakfast, we had gone to the temple and Amma had wanted hubby dear and the kids to feed banana to the Gomaatha. You should've seen the excitement for the kids. The boys were literally jumping, saying banana, banana and all ready to feed the calf and the mother. Infact the last time, when Amma had taken them, Chinnu refused to give the banana, saying he wants to eat. But finally they convinced him to offer.
After the outing, we came back for a breakfast with Poori and AmrithsariChhole! I hurried up with rolling the pooris and when I gave them their plates, they made their dad sit down and feed them. Chinnu even had a separate serving of the Chhole in between the pooris. Konda is very specific that she wants the perfect balloons.
Coming to this recipe, it was scouted out from an old paper cutting that I have been having over years and its called AmritsariChanne. I am not sure of the authenticity, but the taste was really out of the world!
Soak channa overnight. Next morning, wash and pressure cook till soft.
Then heat ghee/ oil in a kadai. Add onions and fry until golden. Then add the garlic and onion paste. After two mins, stir in the anardana powder. Fry for one min, before adding the cinnamon, cloves and chillies. Fry for a min,
Then add the cumin powder, then add the tomato puree. Cook for 5 mins. Then pour the curds, stir in the kasturimethi, turmeric pw, chili powder. Add required water. Cook till the ghee comes out.
Then add the remaining ingredients along with cooked channa. Cook till the channa thickens. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
I know it must be pretty obvious that paneer is something that I am very fond of and I take great pleasure in the fact that even Konda loves it. But even I was surprised when hubby dear gave us an over dose of Paneer. We went out for dinner and hubby dear went on to order, and all I could do is gape at him for ordering only paneer dishes. The waiter himself, was pretty much taken aback. It was Andhra Paneer, Paneer Tikka, Paneer Fingers, followed by Paneer Butter Masala. You would think that after such an overdose, we would be cured of our affliction towards this? Nay, this delicious Paneer curry is something I would make again anytime.This is something that I just went ahead and made, so it was such a pleasure finally tasting it and knowing it came out yum! It involves more of a Chettinad masala, hence the name!
Since few schools take kids from their pre school, we decided to get applications into those schools. And what a torture it is. Though the school was giving away applications for a week, all the parents were up early and by the time hubby dear reached at 7 am, there were about 200 people before him. He returned back to go the next day. And imagine his shock, when he was attending a mini interview! He was asked lot of questions and then was told that the child should be able to recognize circles, and other table manners. Imagine that! How on earth they expect a 2 year old baby to know how to draw a circle or that they should go throw the chocolate paper in the dustbin, is beyond me. They even should know the colours! Peddu, if he has the mood, will show only geeen, buue, when not in mood, whatever he touches will be geeen or buue. And Chinnu won't even bother waiting for me to ask him.Peddu will atleast say something that might sound like A B C,, then it will go into a big song, which I can never understand what. But Chinnu, if you ask him for long, he will launch into singing Amma Nanna I LL LU..I can very well imagine the look on the teacher if they are going to ask Chinnu to say ABC. And if you happen to give a toffee to Chinnu, first thing he will do is, to throw the paper down. He will look at the dust bin, only if he has the mood. I seriously hope the teachers know that a 2 year old kid is very much motivated by their moods!
As I said today's Paneer curry is a treat to senses. Its a mix of South and North Spices and arrived at a delicate dish to treat your senses. When I served with Parotta, it was one yummy lunch!
Ingredients needed:
For the gravy
Paneer - 250 gms Onions - 2 medium Tomatoes - 2 medium Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Chilli powder - 2 tsp Coriander powder - 2 tsp Oil - 3 tsp Salt to taste Coriander leaves for garnish
It was one of those typical mornings at home. Getting Konda ready by 8.10 am, to board her school van becomes a tough job. She is slow in eating her breakfast and then drink milk. At times she skips the milk part. And if the twins are around, it becomes even more of a dance. These days, the boys are up by 6.30 am. I planned for a dosa with podi for her lunch and Bread Pizza for breakfast.
She wanted a Sandwich Jam instead. I told her she can get it later. While I was struggling to grate the cheese and put it in mw, both Konda and Peddu got settled on the table near by, waiting and looking expectantly at the timer. They even kept looking at each other, with secret smiles. When I removed the piping bread out of the oven, Peddu wanted his share. He won't accept plain bread, but he finally accepted it when I put the bread into the mw.
On seeing the Tomato sauce, he started dancing. So quickly a slice was spread with sauce and he went and sat with his sister to eat. Konda wanted French Fries for snacks, so had the fries cooking in sim, while I was spreading the podi mix on the dosa. While all this was happening, Chinnu was running around, singing thala thaala...and on seeing the dosa, wanted a dosa for himself. I told him, he got to wait.
In all this hungama, the van came and hubby dear sent him off as Konda was still eating her bread! Finally I went to drop her at school. Its been a while since I dropped her, so seeing the excitement of little kids, running to reach in by time, was very nostalgic. Konda won't go until I left, so after weaving her bye, I came back to my bike. The atmosphere and feeling just before the bell rings, I can still feel as it was just yesterday! The thrill and excitement of another new day at school, eagerly waiting for each class to get done, chatting with friends and then playing during lunch break. Why, I felt as if I was coming back from my own. I wish fervently that Konda enjoys every single day of school to the maximum. Life is so full of chores, I feel those innocent carefree days spent at school, are what that takes us every single day happily, rest of our lives!
Wash and cut chicken into medium size pieces. Mix it with half of the ginger garlic paste, chili powder, turmeric, coriander pw, salt and marinate for 30 mins.
Then add the marinated chicken pieces. Cook on high for 5 mins, while you are stirring.
Add the ground masala to the chicken and add 1 cup of water and simmer till chicken is tender. Finally garnish with the remaining coriander leaves.
Note: This tends to be very spicy with 2 tbsp of peppercorns, so adjust according to your taste. The main flavour in this is the freshly ground pepper.
Out of the moon, I was in fits of a plot after many years. This used to happen years back, when I was still in college and used to devour book after book of fiction, mind you! It starts with M&Bs, to Thrillers, Comedies, anything that's covered and in printed form, was an object of interest for me. The worse attack would be when I reading those thrillers, I almost would imagine myself to be the detective trying to solve the mystery. And it used to start when I am on the way to college. Peddling away, I would think I am chasing a guunda and peddle as fast as I can. Whether I actually catch the criminal or not, I used to reach the college in flat 5 - 10 mins, though the college was good 6 kms away! Needless to say, this fixation used to follow me during the class too. Add to that, my friends would be deeply buried with a book of M&B, hidden in the class books. I was always forced to follow the class for their sake. Most of my lecturers had this habit of calling a student at random to read the pages. So one of us had to be alert.
Imagine, reading about a story of a damsel in distress being saved by the knight of arms, all hall, dark and handsome! Oh if you went ahead to know the reason for the damsel to be in distress, it would be for a silly reason that her sandals didn't fit her feet! And our TDH hero comes chasing a horse, to bend down to fit her feet! Of all the silly reasons not to a read a fiction, we were even more goaded to get addicted to such reads! We consumed them by tons. I still have a big load of those books in the loft! I was more keen on thrillers and PG Woodhouse types. Getting back home, I used to lock up and read them, as if my degree was dependent on those books. Much of midnight oil was spent on reading these books. I ensured nobody suspected that I was up the whole night reading the book which actually ran to hundreds of pages. In that dim lighted room, aided by the night lamp, then with the light coming from the restroom, I was the detective trying to solve the mystery!
So the plot that unfolded in my mind yesterday, wouldn't let me go until I had the end of it. I saw my characters having a life on their own and I was relieved only when I saw the end!
Ingredients Needed:
For the Gravy:
Gauva - 1 raw Mint - 4 leaves Onions - 1 medium Tomato - 1 medium Chili powder - 1 tsp Coriander Powder - 1 tsp Turmeric powder a pinch Salt to taste Oil - 2 tsp
Roast all the ingredients and grind to a fine powder.
Seasoning:
Mustard Seeds Cumin Seeds
Method to prepare:
Remove seeds from gauva and dip in hot water. Keep aside
Then heat a pan with oil and temper with mustard, cumin. Then saute with onions, mint leaves, then add tomato, chili pwd, coriander powder, turmeric, salt. simmer for 10 mins.
Then add the gauva without water. Simmer for another 5 mins. Add 1 cup water. Bring to boil and simmer till it thickens.
Finally add the dry powder to the curry. Cook for 5 mins and remove.
Check out what's cooking in my fellow marathon runners!
Weekend cooking always tends to be elaborate if it involves non veg. And especially you are entertaining guests or relatives, it becomes an affair to remember. We try excelling ourselves by cooking up the most elaborate and exciting dishes for a guest. And if it happens to be that you have a big family reunion, no doubt, you want to exhibit the best. This is what happens whenever we meet up with my hubby dear sisters. Both of them get down to cooking up elaborate dishes to please their brother. For me, of course even when I tell them not to bother, they try to cook something vegetarian. This liver fry was something that was done after a very long time. I normally don't' make it at home.
I remember enjoying it when I was a kid. My dad's brother used to get us fresh for Sunday and I remember Amma cooking this very tasty. I must have been about 10 years then. This time when we visited my sil's place, we had good fun cooking up these dishes. I followed the same way as Amma prepares and everybody really love it to the last bit! When I had all of them in the plate for a click, my nephew was insisting that he needs that plate!
Mutton Liver Fry
Liver - 500 gms Onions - 2 medium Ginger garlic paste - 1 & 1/2 tsp Tomatoes - 1 small Chili powder - 1 & 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder a pinch Coriander powder - 1 tsp Cloves - 2 Coconut paste - 1 tsp Salt to taste Oil - 2 tbsp
Dry roast all the ingredients over sim flame and grind to a smooth powder once its cool. This can be stored in an air tight container.
For the Gojju,
Heat a pan with oil, add the clove and cinnamon, then saute the chopped onions. When it turns pink, add the ginger garlic paste. Fry till its brown.
Then add liver pieces, add salt and turmeric powder. Cook on high flame for 5 mins. Then add the tomatoes and chili, coriander powders. Cover and cook for 15 mins, stirring in between.
Finally when its all cooked, add the powdered masala and stir it all again. Cook for 5 mins or check if the liver is cooked.
Garnish with coriander leaves.
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When I think of Crow, I always remember couple of incidents. First, as I have already mentioned, when Konda was about 2 to 3 years old, a Crow would always come in the mornings and keep crowing for her. It used to fly away only after she goes and shoos it away. Many years later, I find the same thing repeated. Another crow sits for Peddu, and he gets so excited hearing it and used to run to shoo it away! Well it might sound funny, but that was happened exactly. Chinnu on the other hand, is never bothered about such things.
The other incident that comes to mind, involves my lecturer at college. This lecturer used to teach us Phonetics during the final year and all her classes used to be during the afternoon section. She was a sweet lady and probably never actually been a naughty student herself. For she was often and easily taken for a ride by my classmates. She is an Indian, though was brought up in Srilanka and came back to India only after many years of marriage. Since her classes were always during afternoon, it didn't help things better. Phonetics, for one, needs passion, second concentration. Which sadly was lacking in all of us at class. She used to go Aaa, Baa, and rest of it would be easily forgotten. But the highlight of the whole hour of class, was when a crow used to come and sit on the window sill.
The moment the lecturer casts her eyes, she will start singing in praise of the crow. She told us that back home, there weren't any crow. All she knew was, what she heard from her parents. This, I am not sure how far its correct, as I have never really attempted knowing if crows are not an natural habitat of Srilanka. So when she was all so excited at seeing them in live, when she came back to India. And every class of hers, we had a visit from the crow. Not just that, it even used to cross the room to the other side of the building. At the sight of it, you can hear the usual girly giggles and gestures. And our lecturer will be fit to swoon at the sight it the crow!
Coming back to today's recipe its an unusual blend of plantain with paneer, which we thought could be make into a kofta!
Ingredients Needed:
For the Koftas:
Raw Plantain - 1/2 boiled Paneer grated - 1/2 cup Onion - 1 medium Chili powder - 1/2 tsp Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tsp Salt to taste Cumin seeds - 1 /2 tsp Corn flour - 2 tbsp Maida Flour - 2 tbsp
For the Gravy:
Onion - 2 medium Tomatoes - 2 medium Chili powder - 1 tsp Cashew paste - 2 tbsp Garlic ginger paste - 1/2 tsp Salt to taste Oil - 2 tsp Water - 1 cup
Oil for deep frying
Method to prepare:
For the Koftas:
Peel the banana or plantain and boil the vegetable. You can even steam it. Mash the plantain to rough. Grate the paneer and keep aside.
Make a thick batter of corn flour and maida. In a bowl, take the cooked plantain and grated paneer along with the other ingredients. Mix well and make balls.
Heat a kadai with oil. Dip the koftas in the corn and maida batter. Then gently drop them into hot oil and fry on all sides. Remove on a kitchen towel.
For the Gravy:
Heat a kadai with oil, saute the chopped onions. Add ginger garlic paste. Fry well.
Then add the tomatoes, salt and saute the tomatoes till soft. Add chili powder and mix well. Then add the cashew paste and mix well.
Add water and bring to boil. Let it simmer for 10 mins. Just before serving, add the koftas.
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When I finally sat down to see what I have for the coming days, I was surprised to note, I had none! I turned to tell the same to Athamma, when she was also getting ready to make something. The other day hubby dear was saying something about allasanda vada and we also were talking about Ulaval or Horse gram vada. This prompted Athamma to soak some horse gram. Well I could not actually go and see what she was doing as the twins were busy trying to show me something. They have improved their vocabulary from two syllable to three. Though Peddu continues to say Baa for Bus, he does say lot of other words. While Chinnu is still so shy to say anything. My Chinnu is such a sweet little one, he is very silent amidst strangers but he is the most naughtiest of all.
While I was still playing with them, Pavani came down with my niece and just then my Athamma was making these vadas. The twins were mighty pleased to lay hands on a dish, as they seem to be fond of trying to eat new things. Though they hardly ever complete it. So the moment they saw my niece, Chinnu took away the plate from me, saying its going to be for "Aackey". The way they hug each other on seeing, you might think its been ages since they met, than the few hours they parted. Three of them go to the same play school and spend the whole day. Yet get very excited on seeing again. We asked what rhymes they learnt, immediately Lucky started with A,B, CD, and Peddu joined the chorus. It looked as if they were singing a big song. Seeing them singing, Chinnu was walking around, slowly joined them and started singing Mummy Daddy I L L you!. We heard what he was singing, when both these little ones stopped. These two were singing on top of their voice, so when they stopped, it was like a lull after a storm. In that silence, we heard the sweet and soft voice of chinnu singing this ILU song, it was so very sweet. He become all shy the moment he realized he was alone singing.
The Vadas that Athamma made, promptly disappeared. So all I could get were these pictures to share!
Soaking time for Horse Gram - overnight / 4-6 hrs Preparation time : 15 mins
Ingredients Needed:
Soaked Ulaval / Horse Gram/ Kollu - 1 cup Onions - 1 medium Green Chilies - 2 nos Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp Coriander leaves chopped. Salt to taste Oil for deep frying
Method to prepare:
Ulaval or Horse gram needs to be soaked overnight or atleast 4 - 6 hrs before cooking.
Then using very little water, grind Horse gram and chillies, to a smooth but not very smooth batter. If you want you can grind red chilies along with it.
Add chopped onions, coriander leaves, ginger garlic paste. Press as vadas and deep fry in hot oil.
Drain on a kitchen towel and serve with spicy chili chutney or tomato sauce.
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With prizes of vegetables hitting the roof, its a wonder we can actually cook any dish with these vegetables. A week back, the prize of tomatoes was 60 rs, now its somewhere around 40, which is still very expensive.Imagine the plight when you can't think of cooking anything without tomatoes. For me, the mindset has always been, without onions and tomatoes, there can't be a gravy! How sad indeed. Since couple of weeks, I have been planning on dishes that use very minimum of these prized vegetable! Not just that, even carrots, brinjals cost sky. Hubby dear, back from his usual shopping, brought a kilo of tomatoes and carrots. Promptly asked me to lock away those vegetables. I didn't understand what he was trying to say. He said they cost so much that they are fit to be locked away in beerva!
The other day, Dad came home and saw a bag of tomatoes lying on the table. He commented so merrily "Oh you are buying tomatoes? I could only join him in the merry, though the plight of cooking a dish with tomatoes, sound so tough! Since last week, we have been cooking only dals with tamarind instead of tomatoes. Dals are fine, but how about my masala gravies, I ask! How about Paneer Butter Masala? Konda needs a weekly dose of PBM. My colleague J had asked me for the PBM recipe sometime back and she came around to cooking it finally now. When my other colleague B came to know this, she said J is going to cook a very expensive dish. J asked if its because of loads of cream, butter and other things. For which B replied, no its because PBM is going to consume lots of tomatoes!
Thinking of our woes of tomatoes and other vegetables, here comes a soup that makes an efficient use of left over vegetables or rather blend of all vegetables on hand. There is no hard and fast rule on this recipe. This came into existence for the sheer want of a change from the usual roll of soups getting brewed!
Ingredients Needed:
French Beans - 4 Carrot - 1/2 Cabbage - Handful chopped Tomato - 1/2 Yellow Moong Dal - 1 ladle (can be less if you want) Mint leaves - about 5 Garlic - 3 small pods Onion - 1 small Clove -1 Cinnamon - 1" Salt & Pepper to taste Oil - 1/2 tsp
Ok now that you know of one deep fried love with bitter gourd, I can as well talk about Goru chikkudu kaya or as we call it, Mattikaya. This wonderful way of making a vada, was an inspiration that Athamma had after seeing it somewhere. When I got back home, she was excited about this dish and was telling me for a while. Well she spent quite a lot of time talking about this, that I finally decided its time to make it. It was nice knowing that Peddu liked this, so I was glad he got to eat some veggies this way.
So I thought a snack alternating with soups will be a great thing, Every night when I have my soup, Konda will want to taste that and she says its so yummy mummy! I will tell her she can eat her dinner instead of trying to drink only soup and not skip her dinner. She gets very curious seeing the colour, then slowly sipping it, she says wow.Well that makes it all the more nice. And these vadas, we made using her toy mold that she had. We saved it for using it for shapes. So she was excited that these came out in good shape.
For Savory snacks for kids, check out the Sada Murukus
Ingredients Needed:
Cluster Beans - 1 cup Onions - 1 medium Besan - 3/4 cup Rice Flour - 2 tbsp Salt to taste Green Chillies - 2 Ginger Garlic paste - 1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds - 1/4 tsp Coriander leaves
Oil for Deep Frying
Method to prepare:
Trim the ends of the cluster beans and par boil it. Drain it over the sieve, so that excess water comes out.
Then in a bowl, take the chopped onions, ginger garlic paste, besan, salt, rice flour chilies along with squeezed out cluster beans.
Mix well, then add enough water to get a batter enough to drop in. The batter shouldn't be too thin.
Heat a Kadai with oil, shape as you like and gently drop them into hot oil and cook on both sides.
These make a lovely evening snacks for kids and also you can get them eat the vegetable, afterall its not a problem for the small ones to eat deep fried stuffs!
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While at college, the first two years passed as a blur. If I could remember anything substantial, it would be the final year and its events that stay clear in memory. Maybe because I finally came in terms with my fate. Whatever it is, I somehow coped well, maybe more because my best friend was my family friend. Her father was my Dad's senior at college. When they started their career, they joined the same organization. So after a reunion of some years, our two families, spent many years traveling together during summer vacation. We were 9 of us and I can still remember the many journeys to the nook and corner of Southern India together.
My friend, who was the middle child, was a very charismatic person. Very extrovert, lively and can easily charm anybody. No matter where it was, she will for sure, have a crowd around her. She was smart, infact brilliant I would say. I knew she could've reached lots, had she applied her mind to it. For me, it was very different. I was at a place, where I never wanted too. But I was glad I could bear the moment because my pal was around and because of her, there was a gang for me. When I allowed myself, we did spend some girl time together, roaming around the city as you truly ought too, if you were in a college. But sadly for me, it lasted all but one year, my final year and I can only always claim of having enjoyed one year of college. Surprisingly I seem to remember of those days so much all of a sudden. Maybe I will bore you all those details the coming days. Still it gives a joy remembering those days!
When I think of my friend, I feel middle child tends to be like that? Cos Peddu is like that. Very charming and sweet and very pleasing. I heard from somebody that middle child tends to be ignored. So hubby dear and me, wanted to ensure it never happens. But guess what, there was never a need. Now we make sure we try our best to include Konda and Chinnu in everything!
Coming to today's recipe, its a very flovoursome mix of dal and vegetable, which I got to know from a Dietitian friend of mine. Though she didn't mention mint, adding that gives a nice aroma!
Ingredients Needed:
Yellow Moong Dal / Pesara pappu - 1 ladleful Carrots - 2 small Garlic pods - 3 small Salt to taste Pepper to taste Mint leaves - 5 Green Chillies - 1/2 long
Method to prepare:
Wash the moong dal well, chop the carrots and add the rest of the ingredients. pressure cook for 2 whistles.
Once its cooled down, grind to a smooth paste. Add required water and bring to boil.
Add salt and pepper, adjust and serve.
Note: Both green chilli and pepper would make this very spicy, so go easy on it. You can either add chili alone or pepper alone. Else use as per your taste.
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When it comes to Bitter Gourd, I have a bitter sweet relationship. Bitter because I don't like it, sweet because hubby dear loves it! Oh the love that hubby dear seems to have for this bitter vegetable, takes more than these pages for me to fill. Its expressed more, when it happens to be cooked by Athamma. He takes one bite, and his whole expression changes, soft and innocent as a child, with wonder he will ask, Amma made this? Well my dear, you score 100% for hitting on the nail, I would think. Most times, I don't even attempt to make a dish with bitter gourd, if there are plans, I will ask Athamma to do the honours, afterall its not everyday I can get to see that look at his face. I guess there is something so wonderful enjoying something prepared by your mom! I wouldn't want to deprive him that enjoyment.
It is so much so that, even Konda fights with him, saying "my Mom cooks better than yours"! With every dish thats made, they taste and fight over it, saying its prepared by me or his mom. That will immediately have my daughter railing off the dishes that I prepare and then say I can bake or do this or that better than his Mom. He will promptly reply, asking her if I know to make the dal as good as his Mom. Recently I showed Athamma how to go about making Paneer Butter Masala, so on days when I am not able to get back home on time, I will ask her to make it. So on those days, its even more fun. Hubby dear will say his mom prepared it, so Konda will reluctantly say, it wasn't as good as mine.
Anyway coming to this recipe, Athamma was telling me of this variety she used to make. So when it was decided that I wasn't going to pack my lunch, she said hubby dear can take this along with dal. Hubby dear said, we could've tried making it without deep frying, but then you can really eat a whole bitter gourd, if it wasn't deep fried.
Ingredients Needed:
Bitter gourds/ Kakarakaya - 2 small
Thin Besan/ Gram flour batter
For stuffing:
Garlic - 4 Coconut - 2 tsp chili powder - 1 - 2 tsp salt to taste
Oil for deep frying
Method to prepare:
Normally you can scrap the outer skin of the bitter gourd and deep fry, That way it will consume lot of oil. So scrap off the outer skin. Remove the seeds. Slit in the middle without breaking the vegetable. Then par boil it or steam it.
For the stuffing, pound the garlic, coconut, chili powder and salt to a find powder. Stuff this mixture into the bitter gourd.
Make a thin batter of besan, have the kadai on with oil. Dip these stuffed karela into this thin batter and gently drop into hot oil. Make sure it gets cooked on all sides.
This tastes great with dal and rice.
By the way, this week as I have said, will soups, starters and some dry curries!
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I guess Paya is something my hubby dear is very fond of. He always tells me about the Mutton Paya that he used to eat in Hyderabad. He stayed in Hyderabad for a year or so. Since he lived on his own, he was eating at the hotel and he frequented all the nook and corner of the city. Even after all these years later, he makes sure he drops in those joints when he happens to visit the city. On knowing that Paya was his favorite dish, Amma tried making it once, after getting the recipe from our family friend. Well I don't know if he liked it or not. I just knew she made once for him. It was forgotten for many years. Though he does talk about it.
Recently he again remembered and said I should make it for him. So I again asked Amma for the recipe. She said those many years ago, was the first time for her and the last. Dad kind of, didn't like it much and she has also forgotten if hubby dear liked it or not. Still I thought it will be good. so noted down the recipe. And was all ready to venture into it. Then I remembered our Muslim friends. They knew me since I was 5 year old. He used to report to Dad and those many years ago, we used to live in the same town. The relationship grew to a much different level and I glad to have them as our close family friends. Aunty makes the yummiest biryani and of course Parottas. During our initial months of marriage, they invited us for a visit and thats where I saw Aunty preparing those parottas, from which I have modified and arrived at my own! She is one great cook. So when a need for a Paya recipe came to mind, I thought of her and promptly called her for the recipe. She said she makes it the previous night and they eat this as soup the next day morning.
I made it in the afternoon and served it for dinner. Hubby dear wanted Parottas, but I couldn't make. I was really glad, when he was spellbound on the taste. He said he came out really so delicious. I am really glad that I asked her for an authentic Muslim Paya recipe. Next on my list will be her Mutton Biryani. Though Aunty didn't mention Mint leaves, I added them for flavour. In the end, it was very tasting good.
Ingredients Needed:
Mutton Legs - 4 Onion - 1 big Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp Mint leaves - 5 Coriander Leaves - for garnish Roasted Jeera powder - 1 tsp Pepper powder - 1 tsp Clove - Cinnamon powder - 1 tsp Green Chillies - 5 nos Tomatoes - 1 medium Salt to taste Oil - 2 tsp
Method to prepare:
Wash the bones well and keep aside.
Make a paste of Onions, and saute in a pressure cooker. When the paste turns pink, add the ginger garlic paste, chopped green chillies. Fry well.
Then add the mint and coriander leaves, saute for 1 min. Then add the chopped tomato. Add salt. Simmer for 5 mins, so that it becomes soft.
Add all the spice powders and mix well. Finally add the bone pieces and simmer for 5 mins. Add 1 - 2 cups of water and cover the cooker and put it on for 5 -6 whistle.
Allow it to stay that way for atleast 6 hrs.
Note: Chop the chillies if you don't want it so hot, else slit the chillies. Adjust the pepper and chillies for the spice. I was told that red chilli powder and coriander powder will not be added to the paya. And this is normally made overnight and eaten the next day. If you want to eat the same day, then let it rest atleast for 6 -7 hrs.
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What's your favorite colour? Mine is green! Its always been green. Maybe because my Dad loves Green too. Well I have always felt proud that I love the same colour as Dad. Till certain age, almost all things that I used, were in green right from the soap to most things, it was always green. Only after marriage and kids, I have started accepting that life is full of all colours, started appreciating the different shades of grey! Konda, on other hand, has had her share of likes in colour. When she was 2 years, she loved Yellow. So we had to get everything in Yellow. Even the car was of Yellow shade. Next year it was Pink, we were only glad she didn't have that liking a year ago. She even asked us why we didn't get a pink car, imagine that! Now she vex between liking blue or green, suddenly its all back to pink. What's with girls that they love only pink! All her things are either pink or shades of pink! Well I guess its a long way to go before she can decide on some colour, or maybe she will always have a different choice of colours. It will be fun, right. I know I sound so boring when I say I have always only liked green!
So this Spinach Soup had a hearty welcome. Imagine looking at a thick soup looking so beautiful in that green shade! Not to mention the taste which wasn't expected from a palak. The spices that went in, only elevated the taste of palak and you are left with a feeling of green lingering on your tongue. Atleast it did for me! I made Masala papad in Microwave and it added spice to an already spicy soup.
So this week, I shall try to post Soup / Starters/ Dry curries, which will have few non-veg recipes too!
Ingredients Needed:
Spinach/ Palak - 1 cup tightly packed Onion - 1 medium Garlic - 3 pods small Clove - 1 Cinnamon - 1 " Mint Leaves - 5 Salt to Taste Pepper to Taste Milk - 2 tbsp (opt) Oil - 1 tsp Butter/ Ghee - 1 tsp (opt) All purpose flour - 1 tsp (opt)
Stir for 2 mins, then add 1 cup of water and pressure cook it for 1 - 2 whistles. Once the pressure is off, remove the clove and cinnamon.
Grind the rest to a smooth paste. Cook on open pan again for 5 mins. Add salt and pepper, water if required. Simmer and slowly add milk. Bring to boil.
My lovely lovely green in making is ready to tempt you for a lullaby!
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Though I have two more Halwa recipes to make, I think this is going to be the final in this series! Gosh its been one Halwa week and I know I am not going to make another Halwa in near future. Not that any of these lovely recipes came out bad, on the other hand, how can anything go wrong, when it has sugar, ghee along with some interesting vegetable/fruit! Infact when Athamma made the Potato Halwa, hubby dear liked it so much that I have made it again. Same with others too.
Today's Halwa is very interesting combination. When I told Amma that I am planning to prepare some halwas the whole of this week, she gave me few recipes. The one that topped was this Kaai Kani Halwa. This is a wonderful melody of vegetables with fruits topped with dry fruits. When Amma was telling me, I could imagine, the fragrance and the flavor coming out of this. And I especially looked forward to making this. I got the plain kova much in thoughts of this halwa, so I was sure I was going to prepare. Since it was sweet, the entire week saw me cooking at 10 pm in the night after the kids went to bed. When I was typing in the recipe for Maida Halwa, Konda was standing next to me and reading each ingredient. She wasn't around when I was making it. So after she had her dinner, I asked her to eat the Halwa. She asked Maida Halwa na? I was really surprised how she knew. She smartly replied that since she saw me typing the ingredients, she knew it must be a halwa with Maida!
Coming to this Kaai Kani Halwa, which means a Halwa with vegetables and fruits in Tamil, I made this for today's neivedyam. So there was no way I could check the sweet! But when the pooja was done and hubby dear eat this, I knew he liked it very much, with the second helping he had!
In the end, as it happens with all recipes, I ended up modifying few things.
Ingredients Needed:
Carrot, grated - 1/2 cup Beetroot, grated - 1/2 cup Fresh Coconut - 1/2 cup Cashew, Almond & Raisins - 1/2 cup Apple, fine pieces - 1/2 cup Banana, fine pieces - 1/2 cup Sugar- 1/2 cup + 2 tsp Kova - 1/2 cup Milk - 2 tbsp Ghee - 3 tsp
Method to prepare:
Grate all the vegetables, coconut and keep aside. Heat a pan with 1 tsp ghee, roast the nuts and keep aside.
Then roast the grated carrot, beetroot and coconut, till it gets roasted well. Allow it to cool. Then grind to a smooth paste. The original recipe didn't call for milk, but I added some for more creaminess.
Heat the same pan with the remaining ghee, pour the ground puree. Mix in the sugar, grated or crumbled kova. Combine everything together well. Cook on sim, till it gets together. If you see the kova still in chunks, press it down to mix well.
Meanwhile, chop the apple and banana into 1 inch pieces.When you find the sugar all melted and kova all mixed well, add the chopped fruits, roasted nuts (save few for garnishing on top) to the pan. Mix well and keep stirring, so that it doesn't get burnt.
When the mixture starts leaving the sides, this is when you will find the ghee coming out, remove from fire.
Transfer to a bowl, garnish the saved nuts on the top and click away like mad!
Not being satisfied with my clicking, I asked hubby too. Chinnu and Peddu were looking very expectedly while we were doing our acrobats!
Sending this to Sunshinemom for her Event on Colours in Food, this month being Purple!
Check out my busy co runners, do help with drinks and cheering on their way.:
You would think I have a big line of testers waiting to eat off my line of Halwas? Well you can't get any more wrong that! The Doodhi halwa was promptly stored in fridge to be served hot when hubby dear, sadly nodded ok. When I heated it up, I couldn't resist a small piece, well it was extremely tasty. But not good when you are calorie conscious! Athamma was asking if I was done with all my Halwa posts, I said I still have few more posts to go. She said if I wasn't so keen on Halwas, she had soaked rice for making Jhangiri. I told her that I had already posted it a year back. She was surprised, but reluctantly agreed not to make them. When Hubby dear overheard that I still have few more to go, he strongly refused to be the tester, as his hours of spending off those calories are taking toll on him. Well I was sure he didn't have a problem with the Chocolate Halwa, as Konda promptly finished off half!
So all this discussion made me decide that I may try just one or two more of the Halwas. I could convince my twins to eat, but they are so unpredictable. Sometimes they like, some they wont even touch. By the way, when I was playing with Peddu, this morning, I asked him to tell me a story. He came close to my ear, with his hands folded as if he was going to whisper in my ears. But he said loud enough to be heard next door, "Chinna Chinna Paappa". Now I don't know what story it is, but he was highly impressed with himself. And very happy too. So we had to clap!
This version of Halwa, tastes very much like the Wheat Halwa. And involves the same amount of stirring but less work when compared with Godumai Halwa.
Dissolve sugar in water and cook till you get a one thread consistency of sugar syrup.
Make a thin batter of maida/ all purpose flour, mix kersari powder in water.
Roast the nuts in ghee and keep it aside.
Once the sugar syrup is ready, slowly pour the maida batter into the sugar syrup and keep stirring well. When it starts leaving the sides, add the ghee. Mix well.
Have a plate greased with ghee ready. You will its ready when it starts leaving the sides.
Spread it over the plate.
Check out the delicious dishes dished out by the RM group:
I really don't know when I knew this dish. Its almost like my passion for chocolate goes a long way back! It was almost the time I started cooking and yes, I have mentioned earlier, it was always the fancy cooking that I did. It was those days of Chocolates, Chocolate Fudge, Chocolate Sauce or Chocolate Cakes. There was nothing that I cooked, that didn't have cocoa or chocolate in it. The darker it was, more I liked. The bitter it was, more I fancied it. It was like, life is bitter but when its served in such a sweet form, how can you ignore it! My magnum opus of life holds true to this philosophy. Those were the days I was interacting with Shakespeare, Frost, and most importantly Wilde. Those of you, who have read Wilde, will know what I mean. Though I always think Shakespeare holds the forte, Wilde, on the other hand, appealed more to me then. At that point of my life, I felt very close and fancied Wilde.
After my stint in college, I thought it was pointless and meaningless to go any further from there. But its during those three years of college, I got to know of my other passions. While I was rattling on the Road Not Taken or the couplets that Shakespeare had penned, I was also having my mind full of chocolates. Those were the days I was making chocolates in tons. This happened during College annual competitions. There was to be some competition for the Home Science graduates. Some cooking competition. Students from other steam were also invited for participation. My classmate was very eager to participate and was asking for ideas. That's when I suggested her this Chocolate Halwa. It was truly spur of the moment thought. I never knew there was something like this. I just had this idea and told her how she can go about preparing it. Imagine her surprise, mine more, when she won the first prize.I had attempted at that couple of times later. Its been really ages since I forgot that. This Halwa series churned me to remember all possible Halwas and I think Chocolate Halwa stands in a pedestal in my mind.
Hope you can understand the euphoria it created in the minds of some 20 year olds, it can be sinfully addictive! The soft, yet chewy, sweet, yet bitter and overall the something that cocoa can do to your mind, is something you can realize only when you make this and indulge!
This is the most quickest way to have a royal indulgence! If you allow it to cook few minutes more, you will land up with a burfi!
Cooking Time : 15 - 20 min
Ingredients Needed:
Condensed Milk - 400 gms Cocoa powder - 1/2 cup Sugar - 1/4 cup Butter - 50 gms
Roasted Nuts
Method to prepare:
Take all the ingredients in a thick bottomed pan, mix well to blend the cocoa into the condensed milk.
Meanwhile roast chopped nuts in ghee and keep aside.
Cook over medium flame, while you keep stirring it. After 5 mins, the mixture starts getting together.
Just then you can remove from flame, else you will get more solidified chocolate, which can be called burfi!
Remove to a bowl and garnish with roasted nuts.
I normally roast the nuts in the same pan that I am going to cook this halwa, to save on cleaning. Works out well too.
This takes about 5- 7 mins of cooking time, if not less. As I said, if you want a thicker version, cook for few more mins, have a greased plate ready. Once its done, spread on the greased plate. Dip the knife in ghee or butter and make insertions. Once its cool, you can remove them as squares or bars to get chocolate burfi.
I removed one stage before to land in a perfect halwa!
I must say, though all the halwas I have made till now turned out well, none can beat the chocolate halwa in taste and comfort!
Check out the delicious dishes dished out by the rocking RM group, which is now having 23 members!
When I announced Jihva themed on Festival Treats or Festival Food, I wasn't really thinking what I was getting into! Each and every entry that came in, were filled with so many memories and joyful days spent enjoying those food. I thank Indira for giving me this wonderful opportunity. She was kind enough to let me have this pleasure of peeking into so many delicious treats. I enjoyed every bit of hosting this event as I am sure you all enjoyed eating them! No festival is complete without the love shared, love is best expressed with the food we prepare for our family, dear and near! For me, the best way I could show my love and affection, lies in how well my family enjoys the food I prepare for them. And I was trilled that so many of you, do it the same way. Kudos to all you, who take so much pleasure in preparing such laborious treats, and treat it as a labour of love!
Thank you for sending in your lovely entries. I have tried to keep track of all entries. My sincere apologies, if any entry is missed, let me know I will update it immediately! Without much delay, let me present to you the Sweets and Savories that you can prepare for Festivals be it Dasara or Deepavali / Diwali.
There are some sweets and savories that you can prepare on any day and those are these!
Ramki comes out with his collection of 1001 simple payasam dishes. I am sure many will find this collection very useful and a ready reckoner!
Halwas on Parade!
His highness Maharaj shares with Meera the secret recipe for one lovely dish called Halwasan. I am sure it tasted as delicious it looks. Its sounds and looks great, afterall its made with paneer!
Now when I thought I have envisaged all possible halwas, here comes RC with a halwa made with banana. She sure makes a point for us to go banana over her pictures. Well want to know how she ended up with a banana halwa, well that's a same story every mother has, trying to please her kid, only to be ended up with loads of stuff that doesn't fancy anymore! Anyway, am sure her kid loved this variation of those fruits!
Want to learn ABC in Halwa? Well I mean Sireesha comes out with an ABC Halwa, which means apple banana and carrot. I am sure this is a lovely way to teach kids, the alphabets!
For Mallugirl, the cold chill weather sets the mood for her to crave for sweet rich food. And in this season, it can't be anything else than her favorite gajar ka halwa. Well reading through post, makes me nostalgic, thinking of the same story happening at every family! I could do well to reach out that mould she has there!
***************************************************************************** Rolling Laddus
Sharmi is known to put up elaborate spreads for all special occasions. Her RCI spreads are something I have always been in awe! So this Dussehra and Diwali specials, comes as no surprise! She has a parade of Laddus, with so many varieties to choose, will you ever be in want for anything?
This coconut laddus from Priya, are something that I have always wanted to prepare. But never came about. So its really tempting to find such beautiful picture of Coconut Laddus. The winning factor is always the simplicity of the recipe.
Now you mention Apple, and Uma can churn out innovative dishes out of it. I especially thing she is either very fond of Apples or has an Apple orchid at her backyard. What else would you say when she makes such delicious looking Apple Laddu!
Hetal prepares this yummy Rava Sheera that's her hubby's favorite. So she doesn't wait for any festival to prepare these for him. Of course this being so easy to make, makes it all the more interesting!
I am sure there are many out there who love semiya payasam. Its easy and simple to make! And LG serves it for a friend who is on a travel. What a lovely way to start a journey!
Mahimaa comes with a foolproof method of making a badam kheer and a low fat at that! I am sure you all will love a serving of this anytime of the day!
Sabakki payasa is another traditional dish that comes from Ujwala, whose 2nd attempt at making this, comes out successfully. Well I am sure it tasted great too!
***************************************************************************** Other Varieties of Sweets
Priya comes in with another sweet treat, this time its Jangiri. Yes I too love it when its hot. Actually it makes a great combo with Ice cream and seeing Priya's tempting picture, I was only reminded of that!
Raaga has many adventures to share, one of them, is cooking this delicious sheera that she prepared when she was still in 7 std. Plus the fact that she has a certificate that says “Proficiency Badge in Cooking. Wow hop on to check her other prestigious award!
Now who won't love dishes that are ready in a jiffy and that, that doesn't require long standing orders..pan intended! Well that's just what our dear Radhika makes, that's loved by her kids and very easy to prepare. Wondering at the name Naanu Maanu, well its from Orissa.
Nankhatais, I have heard many times, yeah I have eaten them many times, only I may not have known what they are called. But seeing a chocolate Nankhatai, was the ultimate delight! Supriya makes these by adding coco and in turn creating a fusion dish!
Mysore Pak is a treat to enjoy and getting the right consistency makes it more enjoyable. For Ujwal, its both vacation and hubby birthday that prompts her to make this and enjoy.
Uma Maheswari enjoys the festival with sweetness of coconut in the form of a burfi. Knowing the versatile of this sweet, you can get this done for any festive day!
Vijay makes for the festivals, burelu that too with sajja pindi. I can so well remember my Athamma making this, so I know hers must've tasted great. Nice way to enjoy a grand festival!
Yasmeen makes these lovely Beet Cheese Treats. Its so innovative to make use of Cheese and beets to land in such sweet treats! I am sure this suits any festive time and day!
***************************************************************************** Savories for all festivals!
Yummy Onion Pakodas are something nobody can resist! And LG things these are the best when one has to offer for a festival or a party. They disappear in minutes. No wonder, her pakodas are looking so tempting!
Priya Suresh makes this delicious chikkis with Besan and is charmed with the taste and simplicity of the dish. This is an easy one for beginners for making murukus.
I have done and eaten lot of rice flour murukus, but this is the first time hearing of one made with wheat flour. And Priya says they are good for diabetic people and kids.
Though I love Murukku, I don't remember ever tasting one made with Maida. Viji says they come out super delicious. Well the picture is tempting enough!
Roma brings in a beautiful tale of Karwa chauth. It symbolizes the love we have for our better half! So the fasting that the women keep becomes more important. Though I know why and how they observe karwa Chauth, getting it first hand is very interesting.
This is another one of those traditional dishes done on Karwa Chauth. This festival is not complete without this dish, so I know how special it is as that festival! Vandy goes on an adventure preparing these for day!
EC can come with a feast fit for an army, any time of the day. And for Desara special, she does so many yummy treats. You have something in mind, ask for any, EC has them for you. Check out the delicious spread of Sweets and Savories that EC dishes out in jiffy.
Jaya's nostalgic recollection of her grandparents and the celebrations they used to have at their place, makes us feel we are right there with them. With memories comes the wonderful food shared, and the dishes she has prepared, will surely to make any day an occasion to celebrate!
From Kamala's Corner, you are sure to get a dosa of traditional fare. As expected, I wasn't disappointed this too. It was an over dosa of festival food with the different prasadams she had made for the season!
I can still remember the lovely decorations that Amma does for Saraswati pooj or Ayudha Pooja. So I am pleased to get you a peek into that with Pavani's entry! That slack of books sure will have my niece's alphabet book!
Sangeeth posted her delicious prasad on all 10 days of the Navaratri pooja. Each one was as special as the other. I must really appreciate her patience to prepare so many goodies and post them on everyday affair!
This was the first time I am hearing this word, Labra. I read on to become enthralled in the tale that Soma weaves of the Communal celebrations held in Bengal. I can understand her longings, it must be truly enjoyable, cooking for a community, enjoying with all and being one big family! Afterall what's festival, if its not spent along with the neighbours and friends! This Labra is a dish that's get prepared using lots of vegetables, I can only imagine how it must taste!
***************************************************************************** Savories for a Navaratri
From Raaga, comes three delightful dishes, that can make your Navaratri more memorable!
An accidental encounter makes Raaga, resort to this instant guilt free thayir vadas and it paves way to a new healthy, yet tasty versions of the traditional Thayir Vadas. Try these and am sure you wouldn't crave for the oily vadas anymore!
For Raaga, Navaratri and sundal, go hand in hand. Very true, I too remember Navaratri in relation to the different sundals, one gets to eat. coming from a multicultural background, this lady doesn't give much ado about the different cultures she has had the exposure too!
Rangoon Mochai Sundal is what Raaga makes to get on the Navartri feeling on herself. Navaratri time, its very common for one to get invited to see the golu, given sundal and of course asked to sing. Well these are common if you had lived in the southern parts of India. But not to be left out of those memories, Raaga indulges herself with these delicious looking sundals!
I still remember so vividly the different sundals we get to eat during Navaratri time. So its no wonder Sukanya prepares different sundal for each day of the festive. And this sundal made with Chana dal tops! Very easy and tasty, now who will say no!
Ujwala brings to us, her favorite festival food. It goes well with majjige huli. Well I can only imagine the taste. Wish I had somebody make these for me!
***************************************************************************** Dasara Festival Sweets !
Ever heard of Kadabu before? Atleast I haven't heard the name, though the sweet is famous.Bhagyashri tells us the tale behind this delicious sweet, Kadabu. Well its puffed up like one and looks tempting. Though I won't mind her making these for me!
Divya always ensures she gives you a trip down the memory lane. Atleast for me, most times. And this post on navrathri special, brought me back my childhood days, spent exactly the same way. And for all her claims on not being so adventurous in cooking, she comes up with a Kesari made with Beets. Now lady this is what I call innovation and very pretty at it too!
Unniyappam have always caught my attention. And it was no less when Divya Kudua sent it as her dusara feast. How lovely it looks and she has a tale to tell too. How I remember those days struggling with iron cast appam pans.
Next comes Lakshmi Venkatesh with an usual dish that I am hearing for the first time, a sweet dish made with kalkandu. Its wonderful to know another form of cooking sweet dish made with Kalkandu. And this seems to be traditional. I am very glad getting to know this!
Lakshmi takes us through a trip to Mysore. She fondly longs for Navaratri celebrations that she had as a child and recreates them for her little one. That simple Vermicilli Barfi is a such a delicious one, that no one can complain.
Now who wont love Puttu, atleast its my most favorite one. But since the process is considered lengthy, we don't normally attempt. But when you get down making it, its quite simple and very tasty. So check out how Mandhuram gets it down and its nice to know its their favorite too. Thanks to her Mom, we have a recorded version to refer!
Mandira is getting spoiled by the lovely attention from both Mom and Mil and this festival season is more special because of their family reunion. And what better occasion than this, to make such an innovative and delicious sweet! Three different ingredients comes together to make this yummy and healthy halwa!
Meera always makes sure she gives us a glimpse of wonderful Indian food through her lens. I always look at her blog for traditional food from her family. And this Multigrain pancakes is no less. The pictures are ready to tempt you for a feast right away!
***************************************************************************** Dasara or Navaratri Sweets!
Radhika shares her experience in enjoying Durga pooja and remembers the Komola Kheer that was served as prasad! I am sure it tasted and brought back many wonderful memories for her.
Next she shares a traditional dish from Karnataka. Radhika learnt these from her neighbour. Well I don't actually mind digging into it and Radhika says its quite same as the samosas but I guess I rather ask her to make these for me.
Sailaja spell bounds her readers with not just one, but two lovely sweets that are so typical of South Indian festivals. She is known for her captivating pictures and great recipes. Even these simple sweets comes live through her hands! Please do check on her lovely Rava Laddus and delicious looking Semiya Payasam.
I never knew cabbage can be prepared as Halwa, until Ujwala sent in her entry. It does look very tempting and I am sure this is a sure way to eat cabbage if you happen not to like it! This is what Ujawala prepares for Sarawati pooja!
Ujwal takes a trip down her memory lane, accounting her childhood memories of Vijaya Dashmi. One can almost visualize her words and can feel we are right there in the celebrations. She makes Rava Payasam, which is something I should try my hands as it looks decadent!
Not being happy with just apple laddus, Uma tempts her readers with another version. Of course this is in lieu with her celebrations. I wish Uma many more such wonderful posts!
Reading Arundhuti Rama's beautiful post on what Diwali means, brings back many such fond memories. She talks about the four day long celebrations and how each day signifies. Gone are the days of playing with fireworks for her, these days she spends time with family and friends celebration joy and sharing good food, of course not to mention those beautiful diyas!
Divya enjoys the fullest with loads of crackers and festival lunch! The array of dishes lined up on the plate sure ensures a great feast! If you ever wanted to see a typical Konkani fare, you sure know where to drop in!
***************************************************************************** Deepavali / Diwali Special Sweets!
For A-kay, its a tradition to follow and follow she does without fail. This beautiful post accounting on how it was during her childhood and how she tries to recreate the same nostalgic feeling in having the same but her favorite Mysore Pak, is a tale you should read yourself! Getting the perfect Mysore Pak is no science, it needs a perfect trail and error method, she says!
Cham shares her wonderful experience she used to have while back home. Not to miss out those wonderful memories for her son, she holds on to the tradition of making sweets! Badam burfi, she says needs no other skill other than just stirring and stirring non stop. Well that's some skill I must say!..The end result as in her picture is mouth watering enough to keep on stirring for long!
If there was ever a lore that spoke about woes of a mislanding dish, then this is it!. Read on the witty bantering Indo has on her barfis always ending up as halwa. My dear friend, why do you want to give your cheeks an exercise, I would say the halwas would be a great choice any day. But Indo is hell bent, rather barfi bent, so you get the barfi in the end. so what if she changed the entire recipe given to her! She is happy she's got her barfi and you a picture to drool on!
Now Laavanya is one cool lady. What else can I think, when she ends up making so many goodies! One particular sweet called as the 7 cup burfi, sure gets your attention. This is a famous south Indian sweet prepared during deepavali. Though she recommends to use little discrete while using the measurement, else you will end up with loads of burfis!
Memories of her thalai diwali, gets Mahimaa to venture into making these lovely Badam cakes. She doesn't go soft on the fat or sugar, well what's the point right! And she is very glad it turned out, same as what her memories account. What's festive, you don't go enjoy.
For Pavani, the festive season reminds more of the days she spent in home land, enjoy the day, playing with crackers and eating yummy food. But not to be let down by anything, she lightens the mood by cooking a storm, now what else you call those lovely jamuns or those tempting Janthikalu or that delicious looking Badam burfi.
The famous Mysurpa from Sree Krishna is very famous. Of course its also famous in adding few extra bit to your waist lines. But then, if you want to taste the authentic you can crib about calories right. I am happy Prema tried it out and landed in a perfect melt in your mouth types of this sweet. Her pictures are sure a eyeful!
As usual, we have a lovely spread from Sharmi as her festive treats this Diwali. first she attempts at making Boorelu, a traditional Andhra delicacy which I am very fond of. She gets a perfect balls of these and says though the shelflife is couple of days, it hardly stayed for more than few hrs! Her Badam halwa and chocolate Barfis are only meant to torture us more, I guess!
Sukanya feels her deepavali is not complete without making these instant barfi made with all time favorite chocolate. Since making these last year, she has had repeat success of these delicious sweets. And guess what, they get done so quickly you won't even know, and get devoured as fast too!
Getting into the mood to prepare sweets for the Diwali, Supriya makes these quick, but delicious barfi with nuts. I am sure if one starts on these, they won't let go until its done!
Mysore Pak is something you can never say no. Atleast the ones that are melt in your mouth types. Ujwala comes in with her version, that she learnt from her mom and ajji. And remembers the time she had seen them slogging over a pan of pak! Ehmm, whatever it is, its worth the efforts, seeing her yummy picture!
Bhawana makes this drool worthy Kalakand. I never could take my eyes off her beautifully formed Kalakand. I am surely going to attempt after seeing her pictures. These are her favorite sweet for festive occasions and what better way to enjoy!
I have always been fond of Bournvita, I remember the many times I had it just like that. So imagine, a wonderful fudge made with it? Dibs and Chitra amma has this wonderful blog that they do on traditional cooking. Every time I visit them, its a feast to eyes and wonderful to read their escapades in cooking! This Bournvita Fudge is a lovely one to atone to it.
She hardly needs any introduction. From a cozy corner in Germany, she weaves a tale with her beautiful pictures, apt to carry you afar. Reading Meeta's nostalgic account of her Nana and Nani, I almost felt I was right there, witnessing the pranks, she and her Nana were up too! The Pralines that she made, were fit for the festive season. So what if she was very far from her native, with this lovely post, she took us all right there to her grandparents home!
Reshma says she wanted to share a nutritious recipe, but here when its Diwali time, you can be thinking of calories right. So here comes a Malai Peda, which is her Mom's favorite. And this recipe, she says gets done quick!
***************************************************************************** Halwas for Diwali!
Divya's beautiful puri with a twist of Almond along with fat free halwa is a sure winner. Well it actually an award. Naturally you would say right, looking the way it does. Way to go Divya, that's a great achievement!
A beautiful tribute to a person who never said no to prepare this laborious treat, Papu Pati, we come to know was a great cook. Dibs along with her Mom, share their memories of a lady who was an expert in making the perfect Wheat Halwa. I would like to say, everyone must atleast attempt this sweet once!
Well Gajar ka halwa always meant grating and stirring the carrots for hours together. Of course, we all do that eagerly waiting for the yummy end results. But Divya decided she had enough and wanted to try this easy breezy recipe which is a short cut for making this yummy dessert!
Haling from the famous Sivakasi, Kamala does a firebursting in making wheat Halwa. This is another one of her Mom's signature dishes, and if Kamala's look so delicious and yummy, wonder how it must be if her Mom made!
Dumroot Halwa is something I have heard often, but never got down making it. So seeing Lakshmi's delicious looking halwa, only tells me that next time I got to buy some pumpkin!
From Madhu comes the much famed halwa, the moongdal halwa! But since her family is low on sweet and grease, she tries to attempt at making a low fat, yet tasty sweet. Now who wouldn't want that!
The one reason why I love blog events, is the fact you get to know so many lovely blogs. And PG's is one of that I have the pleasure to know. For this festive season, she wanted to try something new and she landed herself in a squash! I mean she ended up preparing Butternut squash halwa. With the looks that halwa has, I am sure she enjoyed it well!
Priya finds herself with Pumpkin, planning for soup, she ends up with delicious Halwa. To give it an added boost, she adds almond, to come up with a treat to herself!
Uma Maheswari enjoys the diwali trying this halwa with white pumpkin for the first time. by the looks of it, she has enjoyed it a lot!
Vandy celebrates her diwali far from her family yet feels happy that there are friends to spend the festive day. She checks in to make her traditional sweets, since she ran out of besan, she replaces it with ragi to come out with an innovative laddos. Not to be left with just these, she makes this delicious Suji Ka halwa!
***************************************************************************** Perfect Laddus for Diwali!
With the success of Mysore Pak, A Kay wanted to try something that doesn't require much shopping, rather prepare something with what was available on hands. So she and her friend devise that Payatham Urundai are the best shot! This they make, while rambling on childhood memories and trying to create a new traditions for themselves. Well will check on next year, if they keep up to their promises!
Divya has double the reasons to celebrate, her 50th and the festival of lights. So what better occasions than these to make these powder packed laddus. These are her own creations, which she seem to come up so often. But who would say no to something so deliciously looking balls!
Cham makes not one, but two tempting sweet treats for this festive season. These Moong dhal ladoos are enough to tempt a saint! With Ghee cashew, these sure make a great sweet! Cham's pictures sure comes alive always and these no doubt follow suit!
Cham can charm her way into most things. This time, its no different. She knows she can't blog on the diwali fare she is going to gear up. Luckily she finds the pictures of these often made Boondi ladoos and tempts me much with the picture. Though I am not a sweets person myself, I can indulge in boondi ladoos, that too right off the stove!
K encounters a fresh paint smell and memories of Deepavali spent during childhood gushes in for her. She fondly remembers the time she spent with siblings, waiting for the long holidays to be enjoyed with goodies. So she shares Coconut Laddoo as a start of her share of Diwali Treat!
Prajusha made these lovely Rava Ladoo to treat her Malaysian neighbour. Since these are quick to make, its always a pleasure to attempt these lovely bombs!
Sarada makes this lovely Boondi Laddu, that she learnt from her MIL. Deepavali for her, always meant eating sweets and what time left, bursting crackers! Of course, its been the same for me too. But reading it, reminds me how it to everybody!
Deepavali tends to be an occasion for Sireesha to think about the yummy laddos her Mom makes and tries her hand at making them. If these look good, am sure her mom's must taste out of the world!
***************************************************************************** Payasam / Pudding for Deepavali!
Appi Payasa is an innovation in making. Anjali tastes this in a wedding and its so appealing that she had to make it herself. But she wonders if this dish was invented to make use of the left over dough or what! She says this is the best way to use up whatever leftover dough you have. And on top its quite rich and tasty.
No Festival is complete without the final touching with a payasam, which usually is of semia. This atleast is a tradition with us, so its no wonder I felt I was reading about myself when I read Raaga's beautiful post about Semia Payasam.
Being away from the family and friends on this lovely day, can get anybody gloomy and sad. But RC ensures she doesn't get affected by those and makes sure her kid gets to enjoy this day, so she passes on the tradition of sharing joy and happiness on this wonderful day! And what better day to enjoy that lovely bowls of Rice kheer!
Sushma prepares an authentic payasa with rice. Its very delicious, of course a tedious process. So she came about creating an easy one but still a tasty version. This is what is made in her in-law place during Lakshmi pooja, am sure goddess lakshmi will shower all the blessings, content with this Kheer!
***************************************************************************** Other exciting sweets for Diwali!
Divya is very fond of Athirasam. So she is very happy getting the dough from her aunt, and she makes a lovely athirasams shaped as vadas. I always have a soft corner for lovely ones.
Gayathri makes a holige with coconut, which sure makes any day a festive day to celebrate its delicious taste. The plate full of those holige is enough to get anybody crave for these!
It was fun reading Lavi's unbelievable exclamation that she actually made Rasmalaai, all by herself. I must say, I was surprised too, that she could make all these complicated sweets with a toddler on hand. I was more than happy seeing her beautiful picture, she sure knows how to tempt somebody
Trust Radhika to come out with a different way to make kesari! She does it in a pressure cooker and vouches its the best way to get lump free yet easy kesari out in minutes!
Sharmila was all set to enjoy the Diwali with a series of sweets and what best to start other than the all time favorite, Gulab Jamun! Heed her words, eat to your maximum and exercise the rest of the year! Her gulab Jamun sure calls you to gulp it!
Our sweet lil Sia is enjoying a season of idyllic scene. Oops, lil and me, thinks sia! I can safely say that in trust the distance has me covered! Madam Sia says she wasn't in a mood to cook anything festive this season, for her grey cells were enough to decipher the codes of line! Well I am happy she happened to talk to her family, which prompted her to cook these lovely Banana Appam as treat!
It can't become anymore innovative than this entry from Sita, who makes a lamp that's too sweet for asking! A sweet lamp for the Diwali to lighten your days with joy and happiness. Really classic!
Our dear Athirasams, gets a different name from the kanadiga, who call it as Kajjaya. Smitha webs a tale of the importance of these during their wedding. This is a must for all weddings and of course during Deepavali.
Now who says these delectable Gujias should not be prepared during Diwali? Well Soma thinks the same and prepares it to end her craving for these, that she had for Holi. Diwali is a time enough to indulge in all sweet cravings you have. And from the picture I can understand why she was so tempted!
Sowmya is elated that she finally made Rasgulla at home. I know we always think these are hard to make, yet when you get down to making them, they are so simple. By the looks of her picture, I know her family enjoyed this treat!
Suma Rajesh comes in with a puran poli with a twist and not just that, its her wonderful hubby who does the great task of rolling out. Now that's what I call a team work!
Being a Queen of her kitchen, she knew she had to make something different this Diwali and while browsing her book, she eyes these attractive karanjis in rainbow and was happy with the results!
Ujawal shares a tempting recipe for Malpuri, which is a delightful dish made with Maida and buttermilk. Though she says these didn't turn out as soft as she had in hotels, I can't find differenace, they do look so tempting and sinful! She also gets down making some yummy Shankarpali!
***************************************************************************** Savories for Deepavali
Having a toddler on hand, is sure a task, but Anu manages beautifully to make these Thenguzhal, which is a great muncher and killer snack if you ask me. Its my most favorite and I am really taken in with so many bloggers making these! Anu sure must've impressed her hubby with her tasty snacks!
Aparna comes out with Jantikalu, which is more like a murukku. This is her family's special treat for deepavali. So we know how special it must be. Thanks Aparna for sharing it with us!
First times are always a memorable times! Imagine, preparing a dish, that too a difficult one, all by yourself! We find Divya all excited, for this is the first time she made Murukus and they turned out yummy!
Kayal had an exciting Diwali this year, cos its her first time with her in-laws and her kid. I am sure it will be a memorial day to remember always. And to enjoy the day, she made delicious snacks to entertain all. Check out her lovely dishes and enjoy!
Chaklis from Laavanya are little different from what she usually makes. But they enjoyed this new recipe, as it was spicy and crunchy. Now who won't want this for a treat on a festive day!
For me, Murukkus were all the same. I simply love all versions. But I always loved hearing the different names and the taste that comes with each. so these Thenkuzhals are something that's very delicious. And seeing MT's lovely picture, reminds me of those days enjoying these snacks.
And this dish from Sarada, is sure my favorite, Murukku. This is something that gets done on all festival days, and there is no bigger day than Deepavali! Sarada sure makes this for the day to enjoy with family!
Ujwala celebrates their special with a bowl of BBB along with these yummy chaklis made with potato. I am sure they made a great combo!
I love reading about Chettinad cuisine and have admired many dishes. But this one, is a topper. Lakshmi Venkatesh takes us on a tour with information worth knowing. And this wonderful munches are designed with a comb! How very innovative. Check out her post for the lovely way these are made!
I have seen seedai in ball shaped but in Oval?.Well Lakshmi comes out with this new form to adore an age old South Indian savory that's famous during Krishna jayanti and of course deepavali. But do venture into this with caution else you make have crackers bursting right there in the kitchen!
Its a boon to marry a girl, who is already a food blogger! This I know for sure when Mr. Nags encourages her to no end. She calls herself a newbie, but I know getting a perfect Thattai as seen in the picture, takes more experience than what Nags claims!
Prema makes the diwali celebrations perfect, by churning out lovely Mysurpa and then to accompany them, these yummy Ribbon Pakodas. Who will say no, for something so tempting!
Priya thinks Deepavali is not complete without these crispy Thattais. I agree on that! These are what her mom prepares and she followed to T, to get herself a bag full of crispy tasty savory discs! I wish she lived nearby!
When Reshma makes a sweet, how can she not make a savory item, to go with it! So these delicious Seedais are what she makes to go with her Malai Peda! What a lovely combination.
Smitha says Kajjaya can't be enjoyed without Nippattu. So she makes these to compensate the itch. I must says she is quite an expert to churn out these delicacies!
Ribbon Pakoda are always made at home for deepavali, so I was happy to know its the same at Sukanya's place too. She ended up making two bucketful of these snacks to be enjoyed during the festive season!
***************************************************************************** Other Savories and Diwali special Dishes!
Alka shares with us the sinfully delightful Dal Pakwaan. The way she has sung praises of this breakfast, sure makes me want to try this next time. She says Diwali is not complete without indulging in this breakfast. She gives us a peek to their celebrations, where they had the Hatri, which is a mandap, made for Goddess Lakshmi. The delicious diwali faral she has shared, sure evokes temptations!
Now if only all those lovely deep fried ones have a healthy substitutes but still taste great! But Divya says its so. These healthy lentil fritters are baked and yet they taste just the same, yummy and delicious.
Apu shares her adventure she has this Diwali. What with making the tamarind rice and Sambar from scratch, she made masala vadas too. Now this is what I call a typical south Indian festive fare!
Gayathri makes Savory Shankarpali for this diwali along with many other sweets and savory dishes, to be shared with family and friends.
Indrani gives a lovely insight into the festive behind Kali puja, which is celebrated with much enthusiasm in Bengal. The city never slows down from its festive mood, what with Durga puja, followed by Kali Puja! This puja is celebrated with lighting diyas in honour of the Goddess. What better reason than this to decorate the city with lights! Not just this, then comes the Bhai Phota, which celebrates the bond between a brother and sister! Both these festivals is not complete with the food. Hop on to her place to check out her beautiful pictures capturing all this for ever!
Diwali time is sure to be cherished with friends and family. Its a time to indulge in good food and great time. Mansi enjoys it with a bowl of Sev made with garlic, which sure makes it very exciting!
From Menu Today comes a new lesson for me. I never knew there was a separate make for making these. These lovely snacks are called Srathul, which she says are thinner versions of the nada pakkoda. Well I am happy having learnt a new name!
Sudeshna sets the mood all right for the Diwali, with her recollection of how things go on with festival mood. she is welcomed with an array of food that's good enough to keep her going for long. She gets it going with Daler Vada, which is a famous Bengali starter!
Supriya says she is not very keen on diwali sweets and savories, as she ends up eating most of it! But the she gets caught up and ends up dishing out these tasty chiwda and enjoys with the other sweets she makes!
I guess I have thank my stars today. My computer has given up on me and I rebooted it so many times, I wasn't sure it would wake up! Luckily I have got it working in the end. So this hurried post to run my marathon! I had planned for the JFI round up for today, but since that will take time to upload, thought I will do the next Halwa in line. This Halwa is hot as its coming straight from the stove! I had asked Athamma to have it grated, so all I did was to put it on the pressure cooker and then simmer for 10 mins. The halwa is ready!
Though the recipe asks for it to be cooked in sim, I knew I didn't have the patience for a slow cooking. I always have everything done in the pressure cooker! Other than putting this on for 3 whistles, I had it on for 5 -6 mins on high for the sugar to get melted and mixed well. Overall it took about 10 - 15 mins for the Halwa to be done. Except for the ceremonial checking for sweet, I didn't touch it. Of course, the tester is fast asleep, so will have to reheat it again for him and give his verdict. But trust me, that sampling proved that this is yet another tasty Halwa in making. Lauki as its called, I have always know for its halwa, though this is the first time I am making it.
Anu asked if its going to be Halwa week, and Lak said its going to be Halwa Mela, except I am going to cook. Yes I have planned for few more interesting halwas in making! Only hope I have my computer checked again tomorrow!
Ingredients Needed:
White pumpkin / Doodhi grated - 2 cups Sugar - 1 & 1/2 cup Kowa - 1 cup Cardamom a pinch Rose water few drops (opt) I didn't use
For Garnish
Roasted nuts Ghee - 1 tsp
Method to prepare:
Peel the outer skin and grate the pumpkin. Do not squeeze or throw away the water.
Easy way to get around this halwa, would be to pressure cooking it till soft.
Then add the sugar and cook on high, while you keep stirring it. Add cardamom. Cook till the sugar and pumpkin solidifies.
Then crumble the plain kova and simmer for 5 mins, while you mix it well.
In another pan, heat ghee and roast the nuts. Then sprinkle this over the halwa.
This had the consistency to become more solid, but I removed while it was still soft and not so thick.
The credit for finally making this halwa, goes to Athamma. She came across this halwa sometime back and was keen on making it. I was two minds on that. Athamma was very upset that I wasn't paying much attention to my dear blog. In her opinion, I haven't cooked anything new to be updated offlate. So when she came across this recipe, she was insisting I go get her this vegetable. We have always only made a Sambar with Chow Chow. At rare times, I have made a kootu but never a sweet, that too halwa. But since she was very keen, I decided to get her a small one for experimenting. I was happy that it turned out well and quite delicious.
Hubby dear is very skeptical about this Halwa series, knowing very well he is going to be the person going to taste all the new halwas emerging out of the kitchen! I promised him that excepting for another vegetable halwa, rest are going to be with known things! I guess he has no choice. Chow Chow is also called as Benguluru Vankaya or Sime Badnekai. So making a halwa with this was quite interesting! Do try it, I am sure you will get to like it!
The sugar got crystallized little more than expected. So next time will have to reduce the amount of having the sugar on heat.
Ingredients Needed:
Chow Chow grated - 1 cup Sugar - 3/4 cup or less Milk - 4 tbsp Cardamom powder - a pinch Ghee - 2 tsp
Roasted Almond for garnish
Method to prepare:
Grate the Chayote and pressure cook till tender. Keep it aside.
Roast the badam and keep aside.
Melt sugar in a pan till its all done, then add in the cooked chow chow, milk, cardamom powder and simmer for 5 mins.
Then add ghee and cook on high till the beetroot starts leaving the sides.
Finally garnish with roasted almond.
Check out what my other marathoners made today:
DK of Culinary Bazaar, Siri of Siri's Corner, Anu of My Food Blog, Ranji of Ranji's Kitchen Corner, PJ of Seduce Your Tastebuds, Curry Leaf of Experiments, Emotions, Experiences with Food, Medha of Cook with Love, Priya of Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes, Bhawna of Tastes of India, Raaji of Raaji's Kitchen, Ruchii, Kamala of Nandhu's Corner, Roopa of My Kitchen Treats, Divya Kudua of Easy Cooking, Rekha of Plantain leaf, Divya M of Divyaz Easy Recipes, Lak of The Yum Blog, Raaga of The Singing Chef and Lakshmi Venkatesh of Kitchen Chronicles.
Ok I know this Halwa everybody must have done sometime or the other! Amma used to make this so frequently one time. This is what the bread takes shape when she finds a bread two days old. When its fried and then simmered in sugar and then milk, you never know it was made with just bread! The best I remember eating was, when my elder sil made for us, when we visited them. We were so full with all the dishes she made, that we just didn't have space for another sweet. So she packed it for us to eat in the train. I refused to accept a big bowl and packed just a small serving. When we finally got down to eat the halwa, we were taken in by the delicious taste of the halwa. We regretted not accepting the bigger bowl. Even though we have made it many times, it always turns out delicious. But it never equaled that experience in taste!
I have asked my sil, about making it. She says its the same way she does, infact she did it in front of me once, yet it never turned out that way for me. I guess certain things will remain that way for ever!
And Banana Bajjis are the best combo for these sweet treats! Check them out in my Spice Blog!
After my inspiration, I mean something struck me and I thought ok, here is my chance to put up all halwa in one go!
There can't be anything as simple as this, you just take the bread slices and roast them in oil. Soak them in sugar syrup and then in milk. Voila your halwa is ready!
I had previously done this in microwave, which IMHO is the fastest way to prepare Bread Halwa!
Cut bread slices into four pieces, roast in oil. Remove and keep aside. There is really no hard and fast rule for roasting the bread. You can either roast it with little oil or do a deep fry. Of course, when you deep fry it, its more tasty!
Then in a pan, melt sugar and cook to a syrup. The soak the roasted bread in the syrup, sprinkle cardamom powder, then add milk.
Mix well and add the ghee. Ensure the bread pieces hold their shape, it gives a good feeling to chew on roasted bread in between.
Finally garnish with roasted nuts. ***********************************
I am really so excited to know there are so many eager marathon runners! We have new bloggers joining the group. I know among us, we are going to blast the blog world with non stop blogging everyday!
Check out my fellow runners:
DK of Culinary Bazaar, Siri of Siri's Corner, Anu of My Food Blog, Ranji of Ranji's Kitchen Corner, PJ of Seduce Your Tastebuds, Curry Leaf of Experiments, Emotions, Experiences with Food, Medha of Cook with Love, Priya of Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes, Bhawna of Tastes of India, Raaji of Raaji's Kitchen, Ruchii, Kamala of Nandhu's Corner, Roopa of My Kitchen Treats, Divya Kudua of Easy Cooking, Rekha of Plantain leaf, Divya M of Divyaz Easy Recipes, Lak of The Yum Blog and Raaga of The Singing Chef!
Halwas are always wonderful to make and they get done so quickly. Infact when you have some unexpected guests and you don't know what to make, well never worry you can always whip out a halwa in a jiffy! For many years, I always thought halwas from vegetables can only be good with carrots. I never attempted with anything else. Coming to sweets, its never consumed much at home. I don't' really like sweets but yeah occasional indulgence does happens.
Also after an innovative attempt at making an halwa with Papaya, I thought I should make a series of halwas with all vegetables and fruits. So you will end up seeing all different types of halwas with vegetables and fruits. Well I know what you are thinking, but then these are something that make a good dessert for kids, so I am for it!
With konda, I am never sure which one she will like. And with the boys, if one eats, the other one makes a point not to touch it. So I am having my fingers crossed, wondering who will finally eat this. When Peddu was watching the Mr. Beans last week, where Mr. Bean was running around with a baby, I taught him to say "Chinna Pappa". So he comes running to us and pulls our cheeks and with pouting lips, says "Chiina Paapa". I will have to remember to record that soon, these days he is learning words so fast that he changes it within a week.
Coming to this Beetroot Halwa, there is no hard and fast rule for making this halwa. It can be done almost as Carrot Halwa, but this is made little differently. Athamma gets all excited when I tell her that we are going to cook new dishes, so this is her innovation. Normally I make it roasted in ghee and then cook as Carrot Halwa, but Athamma pressure cooked it and then wanted it to be made as Halwa.
Ingredients Needed:
Beetroot grated - 1 cup Sugar - 3/4 cup or less, since beets are sweet. Milk - 4 tbsp Cardamom powder - a pinch Ghee - 2 tsp
Roasted Nuts for garnish
Method to prepare:
Grate Beets and pressure cook till tender. Keep it aside.
Roast the nuts like cashew and badam and keep aside.
Melt sugar in a pan till its all done, then add in the cooked beets, milk, cardamom powder and simmer for 5 mins.
Then add ghee and cook on high till the beetroot starts leaving the sides.
Finally garnish with roasted nuts.
As I told you, I am running the Recipe Marathon for a 2nd time. So I am starting the Marathon with Sweet series. For the next 7 days, you are going to get high caloric food! Afterall I need that to run right!
Check out what my other marathoners made today:
DK of Culinary Bazaar, Siri of Siri's Corner, Anu of My Food Blog, Ranji of Ranji's Kitchen Corner, PJ of Seduce Your Tastebuds, Curry Leaf of Experiments, Emotions, Experiences with Food, Medha of Cook with Love, Priya of Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes, Bhawna of Tastes of India, Raaji of Raaji's Kitchen, Ruchii, Kamala of Nandhu's Corner, Roopa of My Kitchen Treats, Divya Kudua of Easy Cooking, Rekha of Plantain leaf, Divya M of Divyaz Easy Recipes and Lak of The Yum Blog.
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Ingredients Needed:
