Sharmis Passions

Mango Frozen Yogurt (Fro Yo)

2012-02-28T08:40:00.013-08:00

Ever since I started the blog, I wanted to give icecreams a try but was a bit scared of the outcome without a icecream maker. While I was googling I found the concept of froyos(frozen yogurt) sure an healthy alternate to icecreams and instantly wanted to try it. I didnt have a icecream scooper when I made this so that justifies the not so pretty looking scoops :O But still the recipe and pics are my personal favourite.

I made this mango froyo during last mango season so its going to be almost a year I drafted this post :) I wish I had clicked stepwise but couldnt do it. And to justify, it doesnt have major steps just blend, freeze and again blend repeat the process....your froyo is ready.

Trust me the froyo was creamy and yummy which my toddler relished. You can try with any seasonal fruit and enjoy the healthy creamy low fat alternate to icecreams.

Mango Frozen Yogurt - Ingredients

Hung Curd - 2 cups
Mangoes - 2 medium sized(roughly comes to 1 cup)
Powdered Sugar - 3/4 cup
Fresh lime juice- 1/4 tsp (optional)
Nuts - 2 tbsp chopped(just for garnish, I used pistachios)

Method:

Puree the mangoes, lime juice and 1/2 cup of yogurt in a blender.
In a seperate bowl, whisk the remaining yogurt and sugar till sugar dissolves completely
Combine the mango mixture with yogurt sugar mixture together and mix well.
Cover and refrigerate for atleast 4 hours.Then take it and blend the mixture again until soft.Then refrigerate for 2 hours, then break the crystals and blend it again until soft.
Then freeze again for 30mins and repeat the process. Repeat a couple of times until the froyo becomes creamy and soft.The more beating results in a smoothier and creamier froyo. Garnish with chopped nuts.

I filled up the froyo in the icecube tray (with shapes) which is shown below. When taken from the fridge it looks frozen once it starts melting it is creamy.

My Notes :

Hang the curd for atleast an hour untill all the excess water drops out. If your hung curd has water then the froyo when frozen it will have crystals and will not be creamy.
If you freeze, the froyo will set faster. You can also refrigerate its a bit slow process but still no harm in doing that way too.
Adjust sugar according to the sweetness of the mangoes.
You can even use strawberries or blueberries as an alternate.
Lemon juice is added to make it the curd more tangy, you can very well skip it too.

Oats Savoury Porridge (Vegetable Masala Oats)

2012-02-26T07:36:00.005-08:00

Oats is always included in our daily menu specially for breakfast. So I try different varieties than our usual porridge and one such try was this vegetable masala oats(oats savoury porridge) and this was a hit as hubby loved it. Lets start the week healthy with the oats savoury porridge :)

Oats Savoury Porridge Recipe - Ingredients

Quick Cooking Oats - 1/2 cup (I used Quaker)
Vegetables - 1/4 cup (I used carrot and peas)
Onion - 1 small sized finely chopped
Turmeric powder - a generous pinch
Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala powder - 3/4 tsp
Coriander leaves - 1 tsp
Pepper powder - 1/4 tsp
Water - 1 cup (adjust accordingly)
Salt - as required

This is not only easy to make but flavourful too with the masalas blended with vegetables and oats. When served hot it tastes soo good and makes you forget its a porridge ;)

Method:

1. In a non stick pan add onions and dry roast it until it shrinks, then add oats and roast it until nice aroma rises.

2. Meanwhile pressure cook the vegetables seperately until soft and slightly mushy(I cooked for 2 whistles).Now add water, cooked vegetables, red chilli, turmeric, garam masala powder and required salt to the oats. Let it cook in medium flame for 3mins until oats becomes soft.Add more water if required.

3.Allow it to boil for a while, then use a laddle/ masher and mash it well(it depends on how you want your veggies to be) Cook for 2more mins until it reaches the porridge consistency. Then add chopped coriander leaves, pepper powder and switch off .

Serve hot with raw onions and coriander leaves garnished and pepper powder sprinkled.

My Notes:

You can use vegetables of your choice. Also if you like the veggies in pieces just mash it roughly.
Adjust water according to the oats variety. If you want you can add curd / buttermilk, mix it while serving.
Adding the vegetables and spice powders even before the oats is cooked helps in blending the flavours well. You can also pressure cook the vegetables, oats together with the spice powders.

Baby Corn Fry (Baby Corn Golden Fry)

2012-02-23T06:45:00.003-08:00

I havent tried many recipes with baby corn except the manchurian. I tried to cut down oil so toasted and it was still tasty and crispy. This time when I got a pack I made sure to try different varieties with it. So more baby corn recipes to follow soon.

Baby Corn Golden Fry Recipe - Ingredients

Baby Corn - 10 to 12 chopped
Corn flour - 1 tbsp
Rice flour - 2 tbsp
Cooking soda - 1/4 tsp (optional)
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
Curd - 1.5 tbsp
Water - as required for the batter
Salt - to taste
Oil - to toast

Method:

1.Boil water and add baby corn with salt to get cooked. Cook until baby corn turns slightly soft(You can even skip this step if you are planning to deep fry). In a mixing bowl add rice flour, corn flour, curd, garam masala, red chilli powder, ginger garlic paste, salt , soda and mix well.

2.Sprinkle little water(if required) to form a slightly running paste. Add cooked baby corn and marinate for 30mins. Set aside.

3.In a dosa pan, add oil and the marinated baby corn pieces and roast it till golden brown. You can also deep fry them in oil. Serve hot with raw onions and tomato sauce.

It will take some time to toast. Turn over to toast it evenly on all sides. Smear little oil if required.

My Notes:

Deep frying will be more crispier but to cut down oil, I toasted it.
The babycorns I bought were quite big so I chopped them to bite sized pieces. If you have smaller ones you can just cut into halves and proceed.
If you want to deep fry you can even marinate raw baby corns no need to boil and cook it.

Vanilla Pound Cake Recipe

2012-02-21T07:43:00.004-08:00

I had already posted it in Divyas space as a guest post, now posting it here too. This cake was a instant hit and hubby loved it so much. Since the pieces were bite sized mittu too enjoyed it.

This is one of the nofail baking recipes so thought to share with you all. I got the recipe of basic vanilla sponge cake from my cousin long back and tried it here. I modified the same recipe a bit to get this pound cake. The cake has a slight crusty top and the very soft inside, sure one of the best cakes I've baked so far.

Vanilla Pound Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

Maida - 100 gms
Butter - 100 gms (at room temperature)
Granulated Sugar - 100 gms
Eggs - 2
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Milk - 2 tbsp (optional)
Salt - 1/8 tsp (optional)

Method:

1. Sieve maida and baking powder twice for even distribution. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat the eggs until fluffy.

2. Then add milk to eggs, then add this to the butter sugar mixture and mix well. Add vanilla essence, salt and give a quick stir. Then add maida baking powder mixture in batches.

3.The batter should resemble like the one shown below(very creamy batter). Preheat the oven at 176 deg C for 10mins. Meanwhile grease the pan with butter and sprinkle little maida over it. Then tap to remove the excess. Now pour the batter into the pan and bake the cake at 176 deg C for 35-40mins or until the top turns golden brown.

You can insert a tooth pick and check, if it comes out clean then your cake is ready. Keep aside for 10mins then invert. Cool down completely then cut into slices and enjoy.

This is the first time I used my bundt pan though I got it 2months back. I was thrilled to see the cake beautifully unmould from the cake pan. This time I just greased with butter and maida, didnt use butter paper.

My Notes :

I read in an article that for easy unmoulding : Once the cake pan is taken from the oven, place the pan over a wet cloth for 10mins then invert , the cake comes out clean.
I added milk just to make the batter little runny as mine was very thick. You can just skip it too. Adding salt always lifts up the sweetness more.

Ven Pongal Recipe (Khara Pongal)

2012-02-19T20:14:00.000-08:00

Ven Pongal or Khara Pongal is one of the regular breakfast in south indian households. I am not a big fan of pongal but when served hot with ghee I cant say no to it :)

This is the best option to be served for guests. Once the rice and moong dhal is cooked making pongal can be done even 10mins before serving. Best served with coconut chutney or even coriander chutney and sambar.

Ven Pongal Recipe - Ingredients

Raw Rice - 1 cup
Split Moong Dhal - 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp
Water - 4 cups
Salt - to taste
Ghee - 1.5 tbsp

To Temper:

Jeera - 1 tsp
Pepper - 1/2 tsp
Ginger - 1/2 tbsp chopped finely
Curry leaves - few
Hing(Perungayam) - 1/4 tsp
Oil - 1 tbsp

Method:

1. Dry roast moong dhal until slightly browned, set aside with raw rice. You can soak rice and dhal for 30mins(optional, I didnt do). Pressure cook rice and moong dhal with 4 cups of water for 3-4 whistles until mushy.

2.Meanwhile you can get ready with the tempering ingredients. First add little ghee and fry the cashews, set aside. In the same kadai add oil and the ingredients under 'to temper' and fry for 2mins.

3. Add hing and salt, give a quick stir. Once the pressure releases, open and add the tempered items, cashews to the cooked pongal. Mix well, add ghee finally.

Serve hot with chutney of your choice and sambar. I had clicked pongal twice before this but was not satisfied and finally this was ok to go :)

My Notes:

Soaking dhal and raw rice helps in cooking faster and even .
Amma always roasts the moong dhal as it gives a nice flavour to the pongal
Adjust water according to the rice variety.