Taste Bud Delight

Jello Strawberry Parfrait

2013-06-15T00:05:00.000-04:00

Parfait are the one of the delicious dessert to be best served after meals. Parfait is the French style dessert made by layering cream and fruit flavored gelatins in the tall glass and topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit. This dessert is really yumm and must try recipe.

INGREDIENTS

1 package (3oz) Jello-o brand gelatin, any flavor
1 cup sliced fresh fruit
1 cup thawed Cool Whip whipped topping

PREPARATION

Prepare gelatin according to package directions. Chill until slightly thickened. Set aside 1/3 cup. Add fruit to remaining gelatin; spoon into 4 to 5 glasses. Chill glasses at an angle until jello is set.
Meanwhile, fold whipped topping into measured (1/3 cup) gelatin. Spoon topping mixture into glasses of set jello. Chill. Garnish

Mini Apple Milk Fudge/Milk Peda

2013-05-19T23:12:00.001-04:00

During any festivities in childhood, pedas were the common delicacies. visitors used to come with pedas. More than the taste we used to be crazy for the various shapes of pedas such as dolls, fruits, vegetables etc. Tasting yummy, pedas were definitely the best gift that i received and shared.

INGREDIENTS

Ricotta cheese - 7 oz
Condensed milk -1/2 tin
Ghee – 1 tbsp
Cardamom powder – ½ tsp
Yellow food color
Red food color
Cloves- 15 ( for stalk)

PREPARATION

Heat ghee into a non stick pan and add ricotta cheese and condensed milk into the pan.
Stir the mixture continuously till the whole thing reduces and becomes really thick.
You can add little more ghee if you find the mixture is till sticky.
Then add cardamom powder and yellow food colour. Mix well till the mixture gets a nice yellow colour. Cook for 2 minutes and turn off the flame.
Take out the dough into one plate and allow it to cool down till the dough is bearable to roll kit into small pedas.
Grease your palms with little ghee and divide the mixture into 15 equal sized portion and smooth out each portion into round ball, avoid any cracks.
Make a small dent with your little finger and put a clove upright into the center of the dent.
Repeat the same with remaining dough mixture. Be fast because once the dough cools down it may become dry to smooth out the pedas.
After you finish shaping the pedas finish off with a touch of red colour at the top with small brush or damp paper towel. Allow them to dry for a while.
Beautiful mini apples are ready to serve.

Ricotta Cake - Yummy Milky Cake

2013-05-14T00:32:00.003-04:00

Ricotta Cake is one unique and amazing cake with few ingredients .Whenever I get ricotta cheese from shop, I make it every time But never clicked any of its pics. So this time thought to share with you all, so that you can also try this delicious cake at home and enjoy with your family. It has super milky flavor with crunch of nuts in its each bite. You can add any dry nuts of your choice. Dry cranberry makes the best combination to go with ricotta cheese. Every time I add but this time I missed out since it was not available in my pantry. So friends try this one and let me know how was it for you.

INGREDIENTS

Ricotta Cheese - 15 oz
Semolina - 1/4 cup (coarse variety works best)
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Nutmeg - 1/2 tsp
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
Raisins - 2 tbsp
Cashew nut pieces - 2 tbsp

PREPARATION

Combine ricotta cheese, semolina, sugar, nutmeg powder and cardamom powder into one bowl.
Mix all the ingredients until sugar completely melts and all the ingredients gets incorporates with each other.
Also add dry fruits and mix well.
Preheat the oven to 375 F.
Pour the cake mixture into baking tin. I used two 4 inch round tins.
Place the tins in the oven and bake the cake for 40 minutes or until you see light golden crust layer at top.
Once done, take out the tins and allow the cake to rest for atleast 15 minutes.
Ricotta cake is ready to cake.

Punjabi Lassi - All Time Favourite Drink

2013-05-13T00:35:00.003-04:00

Lassi are the refreshing drink not only in summer but in all seasons. Whenever I visit any lassi stall I love to have Punjabi Lassi which is thick and has mild rose essence. So I thought to share the lassi which is my all time favourite. This is so satisfying you can also serve it after meal with full mug of lassi. After meals we prefer to drink lighter lassi that is cardamom flavoured lassi. If you have not try making lassi at home. Do try and keep me a lovely comments.

INGREDIENTS

Thick Yogurt(Curd) – 2 cups
Sugar - 4 tbsp
Milk - 1/4 cup
Rose essence – 1/2 tsp
Cardamom powder - a pinch
Soaked almonds – few, chopped (optional)
Saffron strands – ½ tsp
Fresh cream – ¼ cup

PREPARATION

Soak saffron in ¼ cup of milk. Keep it aside.
Combine yogurt, sugar, saffron soaked milk, cream and rose essence into blender.
Blend everything to the smooth consistency.
Chop the soaked almonds and add it into lassi.
Serve chilled with extra fresh if needed.

Idli Sambar- South Indian Tiffin

2013-05-09T14:41:00.002-04:00

As you all Idli Sambar are the well know traditional breakfast of south India. Idli are nothing but rice savoury cake made with rice and splitted black gram. The batter needs fermentation for atleast for 6 hour and then they are steam into cakes. These are usually served with sambar and coconut chutney. Idlis have many variations like standard idli, mini idlis soaked in sambar, rava idli, Kancheepuram idli, stuffed idli with a filling of potato mixture, ragi idli, pudi idli with the sprinkling of idly podi that covers the bite-sized pieces of idlis. It is also said that Idlis are easily digestible food when served with sambar that provides a mix of proteins and carbohydrates to our body.

TO MAKE IDLI

INGREDIENTS

Raw rice – 2 &1/2 cups
Parboiled rice – ½ cup
Split Urad Dal/Black Gram – 1 cup
Fenugreek seeds – ½ tsp
Salt – 1 tbsp

PREPARATION

Wash and soak raw rice and parboiled rice together for atleast 6 hours. And also wash and soak the urad dal and fenugreek seeds for atleast for 4 hours.
Grind soaked urad dal into the mixer until it is light and fluffy by adding little amount of water and transfer it to a big container.
Now add soaked rice to the mixer and grind it coarsely by adding water .
Then add ground rice along with ground urad dal . Mix both the batter well.
Add salt and with your hand mix the batter well for atleast 5 minutes. This helps in better fermentation.
Remember the consistency of idli batter should not be too thick or too thin.
Ferment the batter for overnight or at least 6 to 7 hours.
Next morning or after 7 hours, Mix the fermented batter well and now the batter is ready to make idlis If you are not going to use it immediately, then refrigerate the batter.
Prepare the idli stand. I use my pressure cooker to steam Grease the idli moulds with some oil. Pour a small ladle full of batter in each idli moulds . Do not pour too much batter as the idlis will expand in size as they cook.
Now steam the idlis for about 10-12 mins on high.Add 1 cup of water in the pressure cooker and keep the idli stand in it. The water level should be lower than that of the last idli plate. Cover with the lid of the pressure cooker with the whistle removed
After 10-12 mins remove the idli stand from the pressure cooker and let rest for 3-4 mins. Now remove each idli carefully using a flat spoon.Serve with chutney and sambar.

TO MAKE SAMBAR

INGREDIENTS

Ingredient Col 1

Split Moong Dal/Green gram – 1 &1/4 cup
Eggplant, small size – 2-3 nos
Green Pepper – 1 small
Onion – 1 medium
Tomato – 2 small
Green Chili – 3 no. (or more, according to your taste)
Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp

Ingredient Col 2

Tamarind paste – 2 tsp (or 1 small lemon size tamarind)
Sambar Powder – 1 tbsp
Cilantro leaves – a handful
Salt – to taste

Ingredients to temper

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Dry Red Chillies – 2 no.
Curry Leaves – 1 sprig
Hing/Asafoetida – 1 pinch
Oil/Ghee – 1 tbsp

PREPARATION

Wash dal and add in the pressure cooker.. Chop all the vegetables into small cubes and add it in the pressure cooker. Also add “ingredients of column 1” in the pressure cooker and add sufficient water. Cook for 3-4 whistles.\
Once the pressure is released, add the “ingredients of column2” and bring the sambar to boil on a medium flame. Add some water if you want to adjust the consistency. Cook for about 10 mins, until the raw smell of tamarind and sambar powder goes away.
Finally temper the sambar by heating 1 tbsp of oil, add the mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add the curry leaves, dry red chillies and hing. Saute for 15-20 secs and pour over the sambar. Lastly garnish the sambar with freshly chopped cilantro.

Vegetable Lasagna - Roll Ups

2013-05-03T00:53:00.001-04:00

Lasagna is the Italian food .It is a real fancy and exotic flavored meal loaded with fresh spinach, capsicum, creamy ricotta cheese and mozzarella cheese. Since this lasagna is purely vegetarian, you can add any type of veggie like zucchini, mushrooms etc. This is one impressive food which can be served in parties. Try it once and serve it to your family. They all will enjoy it.

INGREDIENTS

Whole-wheat lasagna noodle – 8 nos
Capsicum – 1 medium
Fresh/Frozen spinach – 6 oz packet
Marinara sauce-3 cups
Ricotta cheese – 16 oz
Frozen chopped spinach
Paprika -1 tsp or to taste
Garlic- 2 tsp, chopped
Nutmeg powder -a pinch
Grated Parmesan -1/4 cup
Mozzarella cheese – 1 cup
Olive oil - 2 tsp
Freshly ground black pepper- to taste
Salt to taste
Basil leaves or cilantro or spring onion - To garnish

PREPARATION

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Cook the noodles according to the directions on the package. Drain them well and spread them out onto aluminum foil to prevent them from sticking.
Heat the oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add the chopped garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Add in the chopped capsicum and cook until slightly tender and all the liquid has evaporated.
Then add half the quantity of chopped spinach and sauté them.
Stir in salt, 1 1/2 cups of the tomato sauce, paprika and simmer for 2 minutes.
In a medium bowl combine the ricotta cheese, remaining chopped spinach, little salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Spread 1 cup of sauce on the bottom of a 6 by 6-inch baking dish. Spread about 2 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture onto a lasagna noodle. Top with about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the sauce mixture, roll the noodle and place it into the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining noodles.
Spread the remaining sauce over the lasagna rolls. Top with grated cheeses, cover with aluminium foil, and bake for 30 minutes. Sprinkle the basil leaves or spring onion on top.

Egg Fried Rice And Kung Pao Shrimp

2013-04-28T18:39:00.000-04:00

I was looking out to try some chinese dishes which can be prepared with the sauces at are available in my refrigerator. One I thought of egg fried rice which you all are familiar with. And other dish which are actually looking was the side dish that goes well with fried rice. That was Kung Pao Shrimp. This dish is one of the best chinese appetite which has mix taste of sour, tangy with dash of sweetness and crunch of peanuts.This is such a dish, if all the ingredients are ready only in 5 minutes you can finish up this dish. This is one best combination meal hereafter I am going to try. So far machurian has always been remain as sidedish along with fried rice. So for the change try out Kung Pao Shrimp and enjoy your super meal.

INGREDIENTS OF EGG FRIED RICE

Overnight cooked rice or leftover rice – 1&1/2 cups
Egg – 2 nos
Carrot - 4 small, chopped
Capsicum - 2 tbsp, chopped
Red and yellow capsicum – 2 tbsp , chopped
Beans – 2, chopped
Cabbage - 1/4 cup, chopped
Onion - 1/4 cup, chopped
Garlic - 1 tbsp, chopped
Spring onions (white part) - 2 tbsp, chopped
Spring onions (green part) - 2 tbsp, chopped
Soya sauce – 3/4 tsp
Chili Sauce - 1 tsp
Pepper powder - 1 tsp
Oil – 2 tbsp
Salt to taste

PREPARATION OF EGG FRIED RICE

Finely chopped all the veggies and also scramble the eggs with tablespoon of oil into separate pan. And keep it aside.
Heat oil in a wide pan or wok, add garlic and fry till its starts browning.
Then add chopped and chopped white part of spring onions and fry till onions are soft.
Then add carrots, beans and cabbage and sauté till they are tender not soft.
Add all the chopped capsicum and sauté along with the veggies for 2minutes.
Then add soya sauce and sauté it on high flame for 2minutes with continuous stir.
Now add in chili sauce, pepper powder, and salt. Keep stirring for few minutes till the veggies are well blended with the sauces.
Then add the cooked rice and mix well. Add scrambled eggs to fried rice along with green spring onions and give a stir until everything is well combined. Switch it off and serve hot.

INGREDIENTS OF KUNG PAO SHRIMP

Shrimps or prawns (peeled and deveined) - 12-15 big
Roasted peanuts (skin removed)- 1/4 cup
Dried red chilies – 4 big
Onion (cut into small bite size chunks) – 1 small
Green capsicum (cut into small bite size chunks) – ½ capsicum
Spring onions– 2 stalks
Garlic – 1 tsp or 2 cloves, finely chopped
Sesame oil or cooking oil – 2 tbsp

Kung Pao Sauce

Soy sauce – 3 tbspSugar – ½ tsp
Corn starch – ½ tsp
Water – 4 tbsp
Sesame oil – ¼ tsp
Pepper powder – ½ tsp
Vinegar -1/2 tsp

PREPARATION OF KUNG PAO SHRIMP

Mix all the ingredients ofKung Pao sauce and keep aside for later use.
Heat the oil into the and add chopped garlic and stir well.
Add onions, green capsicum and dried red chillies. Fry till you get spicy aroma from dried red chillies.
Then add cleaned and deveined prawns or shrimps and roasted peanuts into the wok.Stir well till shrimps are half cooked. Add kung pao sauce and kep stirring until sauce thickens and the prawns are well cooked and blended into the sauce.
Finally add chopped spring onion and give a quick stir. Switch off the flame.

Misal Pav

2013-04-22T00:56:00.001-04:00

Misal pav is one of the famous street food in Maharashtra and can be found at every chat center. This misal is the combination of two curry. One is the kat or spicy gravy and other is the usal made with sprouts. Usually served with PavBread with lots of spicy mixture or mix farsan on the gravy. This was my one bookmarked recipe which I wanted to try to from long time. So here it is . Do try it and let me know your lovely comments

INGREDIENTS

To Make Gravy or Curry

Onion – 1 medium, sliced
Tomato – 1 medium, chopped
Ginger garlic paste – 2 tsp
Water – 2 cups
Salt to taste
Oil

To make Gravy Paste

Coconut – ¼ cup
Tumeric powder – ½ tsp
Dry red chillies – 4
Black peppercons - 10
Cloves – 2
Cinnamon – 1 inch piece
Green cardamom – 2
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Sesame seeds – 1 tsp
Coriander seeds – 1&1/2 tbsp

To Make Usal

Sprouts (Moong or Matki) – 1 &1/2 cups (Soaked and boiled)
Ginger garlic paste – 2 tsp
Boiled potato – 1 big, cubed
Cinnamon and cloves powder – 1 tsp
Garam masala – ½ tsp
Tumeric powder – ¼ tsp
Asafoetida – a pinch
Lemon juice – 1 tsp
Cilantro
Salt to taste

To Garnish

Onion, chopped
Mix dry farsan
Cilantro, chopped
Lemon juice

PREPARATION

To Make Gravy

Dry roast all the ingredients under “ To Make Curry Paste” . keep it aside
Heat oil in the pan and add chopped onion and ginger garlic paste. Fry till onion become transparent.
Then add chopped tomato and sauté till soft.
Then grind sauted onion, ginger garlic paste and sauted tomato along with roasted ingredients to a smooth paste.
Heat some oil in the pan and fry the grounded paste till oil separates from the gravy.
Then add 2 cups of water. Mix well and bring it to boil. Adjust the salt and also spicyness.

To Make Usal

Heat oil in another pan and add ginger ginger paste and asafetida. Sauté for 1 minute.
Then add boiled sprouts and potato. Mix well.
Add tumeric powder, garam masala, cinnamon and cloves powder, lemon juice and salt.
Stir well and cook for 5 minutes on medium flame.
Garnish with chopped cilantro

To Assemble The Misal

Into a serving bowl. Add usal and pour gravy over it.
Thereafter add chopped onion, mix farsan and some lemonjuice and chopped cilantro.
Serve hot with pav and some extra lemon wedges.

Motichoor Ke Ladoo - Ugadi Festival

2013-04-11T12:47:00.003-04:00

Gudi padwa is the first holy festival which marks the beginning of the new year, new month and new day for the Hindus falls on Chaitra Shukla Pratipada. The Gudi is a flag symbolising victory, is hoisted in every houses .Houses are decorated with Mango Leaves and Rangoli and everyone in the family wear new clothes and celebrate the festival by wishing each other New year greetings.

The eating of a specific mixture called Bevu-Bella (Neem and Jaggery) in Kannada, symbolizes the fact that life is a mixture of good and bad, Happiness and Sorrow. Jaggery signifies happiness and neem signifies sadness. Eating Neem and Sweet Jaggery means one need to take both Good and Bad or Happiness and Sorrow should be accepted together and with equanimity through the New Year.
Coming to the recipe. Motichoor Ladoo are ladoo made with very small sized boondi. The difference between motichoor and boondi ladoo is that the boondis in the motichoor ladoo are small and pearly.

INGREDIENTS

For the boondi batter

Besan (Bengal gram flour) - 1 1/2 cups

For the sugar syrup

Sugar - 1 1/4 cups
Milk - 1 tbsp
Few drops saffron food colour
Few saffron strands
Almonds, chopped - 2 tbsp
Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
Rose water - 2 tsp
Oil or Ghee – For frying Boondi

PREPARATION

For the boondi batter

Combine the besan and and about ¾ cup of water and mix well to make a smooth batter. Keep aside.

For the sugar syrup and ladoos

Combine the sugar and 1½ cups of water into pot and heat while stirring continuously till the sugar dissolves.
Continue to simmer the syrup over a medium flame for about 3 to 4 minutes and add the saffron food colour to the syrup and make a syrup of one string consistency. Keep warm

Heat oil in a kadhai. When hot, hold a perforated spoon (boondi jhara) over the hot oil and pour a little boondi batter at a time using a ladle over the perforated spoon. Spread the batter with the back of a spoon so that the boondi falls into the oil.
Wash and dry the perforated spoon (boondi jhara) every time you pour the bundi batter through it
Fry the boondis over a high flame to a light golden colour, taking care to ensure that they are not very crisp.
Add the boondis to the warm sugar syrup and mix well so that the boondis soak in the syrup well.
Repeat the process of making the boondis with the remaining batter and immerse them in the sugar syrup immediately after frying.
Allow the mixture to cool completely. Add the saffron strands, chopped almonds, powdered cardamom and rose water and mix well.
Shape the mixture to make ladoo .

Italian Rum Cake

2013-04-09T01:11:00.002-04:00

Italian Rum Cake is one of the specialty of Italy. In Italy, people think that making this cake is an art and cake taste as great as it looks. This cake is made with two filling one is Bavarian cream and another is chocolate pastry cream and then topped with whipped cream rosettes with bright cherries and sliced almonds around the sides of the cake for an attractive presentation. This is one inviting cake best serve on birthday and also for various celebration.

INGREDIENTS

Italian Sponge Cake

All purpose flour, sifted -1 &1/4 cups
Egg yolks - 5
Egg whites -5
Sugar -1&1/2 cups
Vanilla essence -1 tsp
Fresh lemon rind, grated - 1/2 tsp (optional)

Bavarian Vanilla Cream

Cream cheese, softened – 8oz
Instant dry vanilla pudding – 3 oz packet
Milk – 1 cup
Whipped cream, thawed – 8oz

Chocolate Pastry Cream

Sugar, granulated – 3 tbsp
Egg yolks - 3
All-purpose flour – 3 tbsp
Vanilla essence – ½ tsp
Milk – 2 cups
Baking chocolate, grated – 2 oz
Butter – 1 tbsp

Rum Syrup

Light or dark rum – ¼ cup or Rum flavoring – 1 tbsp
Water – 1/3 cup
Sugar, granulated – ½ cup

Whipped Cream-Corn Syrup Frosting

Heavy cream – 2 cups
Vanilla essence – 1 tsp
Light corn syrup - 2 tsp

For Decoration

Sliced almonds, for decorating sides of cake
Whipped cream, for piping rosettes around top of cake

PREPARATION

Italian Sponge Cake

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Apply butter and sprinkle little all purpose flour in the 9-inch cake pans. Set aside.
Combine egg yolks and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat until you get lemony color.
Then add all purpose flour, a little at a time and whisk it well. Add vanilla essence and lemon rind (if using it).
Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry and fold into prepared cake mixture.
Pour cake batter into prepared cake pans and bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove cakes from oven and turn out of pans onto wire racks to cool completely.

Bavarian Vanilla Cream

Combine cream cheese and dry vanilla pudding mix into wide bowl and mix it on medium speed, using electric mixer.
Add the milk and continue beating until you do not see any lumps in the mixture.
Then add whipped cream and mix on low speed and chill a couple of hours before using. Pipe a perimeter of icing around edge of cake layers before adding filling to keep it from oozing out the sides. Store in refrigerator in airtight container.

For the Chocolate Pastry Cream

Combine sugar, egg yolks flour, and vanilla into one pot and place it on low flame. Mix together well.
In a separate pot, boil the milk. Very slowly pour milk over egg yolk mixture, in a thin stream, beating constantly with rotary beater.
Continue cooking on low flame, stirring with a wooden spoon, until mixture reaches the boiling point.
Add grated chocolate and stir well. Cook for another 1 minute.
Remove pot from heat, add butter and mix well.
Take out the mixture into another bowl and allow it to cool.
Stir occasionally to prevent skin from forming over the top. Then chill the mixture for atleast 3 to 4 hours before using as a filling

For the Rum Syrup

Combine water, sugar, and rum (liquor or flavouring) in a small pot. Bring to a boil, and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and cool before using.

Whipped Cream-Corn Syrup Frosting

In a large chilled bowl, with chilled beaters, beat cold cream until it just starts to thicken. Add corn syrup and vanilla essence from the side of the bowl, and beat until stiff peaks form.

To Assemble Cake

Slice sponge cakes into three thin layers.
Place one sponge layer on platter cut side up, sprinkle about 1 tbsp of the rum (be careful not to get the cake too wet, or layers will become soggy).
Allow sprinkled rum to soak into the cake for about 5 minutes.
Sprinkle remaining sponge layers (on the cut side) evenly with remaining rum.
Spread a layer of vanilla pastry cream on the first sponge layer.
Top the vanilla cream layer with second layer of rum sprinkled sponge cake.
Spread a layer of chocolate pastry cream on the second sponge layer.
Top the chocolate layer with the last layer of sponge cake.
Frost the top sponge cake layer and sides of cake with remaining whipped cream corn syrup frosting, and then decorate top of cake by piping rosettes using whipped cream and cover sides of cake with sliced almonds, or decorate as desired.
Place cake in refrigerator for 1-2 hours before serving.

Amritsari Fish Pakora

2013-04-08T01:35:00.000-04:00

Amritsari Fish Pakora is the famous street non vegetarian street food sold by hawkers at every corner of Amritsari street. Amritsari fish is a favourite appetizer of all the fish lovers and also the best idea for potluck party or any get together party. This is one mouthwatering and easy to prepare with available ingredients in your kitchen. Try it once and let me know the comments.

INGREDIENTS

Fish Fillets - 4 nos (cubed or finger shapes)
Vinegar (malt vinegar or rice vinegar ) - 1/2 cup
Besan or gram flour - 1 cup
Yogurt - 1/2 cup
Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala -1/2 tsp (optional)
Ginger garlic paste - 2 tbsp
Carom seeds (ajwain) - 1 tsp
Egg - 1no
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Oil for frying
Chat masala

PREPARATION

Clean the fillet and cut into cubes or fingers.
Then marinate the fish pieces in the rice vinegar for atleast 15 minutes.
To prepare the batter. Combine besan, yogurt, egg, red chilly powder, garam masala, lemon juice, ginger garlic paste, carom seeds and salt into one wide bowl. Mix everything well.
Add in fish pieces in the batter. Mix well to coat teh fish pieces well in the batter. Let it stand for another 5 minutes.
Meanwhile heat the oil for deep frying.
Slowly side in the fish pieces in the hot oil and fry till the fish pieces turns into dark golden in colour on both the sides.
When your done with frying all the fish pieces. Sprinkle chat masala on the top and serve with some lemon wedges.

Strawberry Milkshake

2013-04-06T17:53:00.000-04:00

Strawberry Milkshake is the refreshing drink with blend of fresh strawberry, milk and icecream. I always love to have this milkshake with some extra ice cream or cream. I have seen many fast food center, where they make this kind of shake by using color and saying it as strawberry milkshake. Well the milkshake might have beautiful pink color but lag behind with real strawberries. However preparing milkshake at home is not a big deal. You can make it anytime and enjoy it anytime.

INGREDIENTS

Fresh strawberries, hulled - 8 nos
Milk - 1 cup
Water - 1/4 cup
Sugar - 3 tbsp
Strawberry Icecream - 1 scoop
Strawberry Syrup - 1 tbsp

INGREDIENTS TO GARNISH

Fresh cream - 1 tsp for each glass
Strawberry syrup - 1 tsp
Strawberry slices

PREPARATION

Hull the strawberries and slice them.
Combine strawberries, milk, icecream, syrup and sugar into blender and blend it until smooth.
Pour it into a glass and serve topped with some fresh cream and extra strawberry syrup and some strawberry slices at the side of the glasses.

Stuffed Eggplant Rice

2013-04-03T23:52:00.000-04:00

Stuffed eggplant rice is the amazing dish which can be loved by the non -eggplant lovers.When I made this rice I was truly surprised by its aroma and taste. It was very tempting and jovial meal with raita. I think this rice goes well with any kind of raita. The real fact is you will not miss the absence of key ingredients like onion and garlic which are always common in any pulav or pilaf or biryanis. Only you need the best variety of fresh eggplants. I have notice some times eggplants are bit bitter in taste. So What I do is? I slit the eggplants and soak them into salted water for few minutes. Doing this you will not have bitter taste in the eggplants

INGREDIENTS

Small eggplants - 10
Basmati rice - 2&1/2 cups
Water - 4 cups
Salt - 2 &1/2 tsp
Lemon juice - 2 tsp

INGREDIENTS FOR STUFFING

Coconut - 1/2 cup (Fresh/Frozen)
Cilantro - 1/2 cup, chopped
Mint leaves or pudina - 1/2 cup
Green chillies - 3
Ginger - 2 tsp, chopped
Salt to taste

To Roast and Grind the Ingredients for Stuffing

Coriander seeds - 2 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1 &1/2 tsp
Cloves - 8
Black pepper - 6 to 8
Green cardamom - 6 pods
Cinnamon stick - 2 inch piece

INGREDIENTS FOR SEASONING

Oil - 4 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Cloves - 5
Cinnamon - 2 inch piece broken into pieces
Star Anise - 2 whole, broken into pieces
Bay leaf - 3
Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp

PREPARATION

Wash and soak the rice in water for half an hour. Also wash thoroughly all the eggplants and keep aside.
Dry roast the spices on medium flame with continuous stir,without burning them.
Combine roasted ingredients and fresh ingredients into blender and make a smooth paste by adding little amount of water,
Now using a knife make four slits in the eggplants with stems intact and stuff the prepared paste and some paste will be leftover. Keep it aside for later use.
In wide pot heat oil on medium flame. Add all the whole spices(spices mentioned in the above seasoning category).
Fry the spices for 1 minute and then add remaining reserved paste. Sauté till the raw smell goes off.
Now drain water from the rice and add it into the pot. Mix well and add water.
Bring it to boil and then put lemon juice and salt. Cover and cook on low flame for about 10 to 12 minutes or until the rice are half cooked and water is almost but not fully absorbed.
Once the rice is half cooked, place the stuffed eggplants by slowly digging in the rice, make sure not to mash the rice.
Cover and cook for another 15 minutes on the same flame until the rice and eggplants are fully cooked.
Stuffed eggplant rice is ready to serve with your favorite raita or with spiced yogurt.

Dahi Aloo With Jeera Rice

2013-04-02T13:06:00.001-04:00

Today I am here with simple yet delicious combo meal, that is Dahi Aloo with Jeera Rice. Potatoes has always been favourite in Indian cooking because you can do so much with them. So coming to the recipe. This recipe is such that boiled potatoes are cooked in spicy and creamy yogurt with handy spices, so this is called as Dahi Aloo. People calls out this recipe with different names but method and taste remains same.

This gravy makes the best combination with Jeera rice. And other option is can be served with puri or plain parathas.

INGREDIENTS

Potatoes – 2 medium sized, boiled and peeled
Yogurt – 1cup (room temperature)
Water – 1 cup
Olive oil – 1 tsp
Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp
Crushed red chilies or red chili flakes – ¾ tsp
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Coriander powder – ½ tsp
Salt to taste

PREPARATION

Boil the potatoes and thoroughly mash one potato and mash the others to bite size pieces. Keep it aside.
Combine yogurt and water into one bowl and whisk together without leaving any lumps.
Heat oil in a pot on medium flame and add cumin seeds.
Once the seeds start to pop, add turmeric and coriander powder. Mix and add the potatoes. Mix potatoes well with spice powder.
Add in yogurt- water mixture and mix well with the potatoes. And bring the gravy to a rolling boil and then add salt and crushed red chili.
Dahi Aloo is ready to serve with mild flavored rice. I serve with Jeera rice.

INGREDIENTS

Rice - 1&1/4 cups
Water - 2&1/2 cups
Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

PREPARATION

Set electric cooker on COOK mode.
Heat ghee into the cooker and add cumin seeds. Fry the seeds till they slightly changes their colour.
Mix in washed and drained rice. Stir well and fry for 1 minute.
Then add water and salt. Mix well and cook it till done.
This time I prepared jeera rice in electric cooker. It was very easy.
In same way one can prepare on stove top cooker.

Beetroot Sasam

2013-04-01T18:05:00.001-04:00

Sasam is actually a name origin from ingredient – Mustard seeds. Yes, mustard seeds is the key ingredient in the sasam recipes. These sasam recipes can be prepared with any vegetable. Method of preparation remains the same. As you know Beetroot has a beautiful color and also makes the dish to look pretty and also they are great on tastebuds In this recipe, cooked beetroot pieces are mixed in the mustard flavored yogurt gravy. The flavor of gravy by the ground mustard seeds to the entire dish is superb and quite addictive. Such recipes goes well with plain rice and sometimes also with rice and dal. Altogether makes a wholesome and tasty meal.

INGREDIENTS

Beetroot, finely chopped- 1 medium sized
Thick yogurt -1 cup
Salt to taste

INGREDIENTS TO MAKE A PASTE

Grated coconut (fresh/frozen) – ½ cup
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Green chilly - 1
Oil – 1 tsp

INGREDIENTS FOR TADKA OR SEASONING

Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
Asafoetida – ¼ tsp
Dried red chilly - 1
Curry leaves – 5
Oil – 1 tsp

PREPARATION

Finely chop the beetroot and put it into pot along with little water. Cover and cook till beetroot pieces becomes soft and tender. This may take about 6 to 8 minutes. Allow it to cool down.
In a seasoning pan , heat oil and fry green chilly until you see white spots on it.
Then grind coconut, mustard seeds, tumeric powder and fried green chilly to a fine paste using 3 to 4 tbsp of water.
Now in a bowl, combine yogurt, cooked beetroot, grounded paste and salt. Mix everything well.
In a same seasoning pan, heat oil and add mustard seeds and let it splutter for 15 seconds.
Then add asafetida, dried red chilly (cut into pieces) and curry leaves. Fry for 10 seconds.
Pour this seasoning over the yogurt- beetroot mixture and mix well.
Beetroot sasam is ready to serve along with rice or some time as a side dish along with rice and dal.

Baigan Raita

2013-03-28T22:22:00.000-04:00

Raita always brings a twist in our meals and also increases the taste. It is also said that raita apart from increasing the taste of the meals, it also helps in digestion purpose. Before I was not too fond of raita, but now a days I feel my meals are incomplete without any raita or any plain salad. So tried this raita recipe known as Baigan Raita or Dahi Baigan . This is the one delicious yogurt based seasoned salad made with eggplants or brinjal. This is very simple and easy to prepare if you have eggplants handy in your kitchen.

INGREDIENTS

Small eggplant, thinly diced - 5 nos (as shown in above image)
Thick yogurt - 1&1/4 cups
Cilantro, chopped - 2 tbsp
Crushed red chillies - 1&1/2 tsp
Tumeric powder - 1/8 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1&1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/8 tsp
Curry leaves - 5
Asafoetida - a pinch
Salt to taste
Oil - 1 tsp +1 tsp

PREPARATION

Wash and thinly dice the eggplants into small pieces. Microwave the pieces along with pinch of salt and 1 tsp of oil until the eggplant pieces are soft and tender.
Beat the yogurt till you get smooth texture. Add in cooked eggplant pieces , another pinch of salt and chopped cilantro. Mix everything well.
Heat oil in the seasoning pan and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, crushed red chillies, asafoetida, curry leaves and tumeric powder. Fry everything for 1 minute and pour it into yogurt mixture and mix well.
Baigan raita is ready to serve

CHANDRAKALA - HAPPY HOLI

2013-03-27T11:33:00.002-04:00

After the long conversation about Holi in previous post. Let talk about something about this sweet. Chandrakala is among the gujiya family which is famous snack during Holi festival. They are prepared with mawa or khoya filling along with dry fruits. Once these sweet are fried they are then dipped into sugar syrup. Khoya is used in many Indian sweets. And they are easily available at stores, if you find hard to get or want to have khoya which can be prepared at home.I shall give you the quick recipe below. And if interested also check my Mawa gujiya recipe

INGREDIENTS

For Khoya /Mawa - Yields - 1cup

Full cream milk - 1/2 cup
Milk powder (I use non- fat milk powder of Nestle brand) - 1&1/4 cups

PREPARATION

Combine both the ingredients into microwave safe bowl and microwave it for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir occasionly after every 1 minute.
The mixture will become thick. And its ready to use in any Indian sweet.

For Making Pastry

All purpose flour - 2 cups
Melted ghee - 2 tbsp or 1/4 cup
Water to knead
Oil for frying

For Filling

Khoya/Mawa - 1 cup
Cashewnuts - 2 tbsp, chopped
Pistachios - 2 tbsp,chopped
Almonds - 2 tbsp, chopped
Raisins - 1 tbsp
Dry dessicated coconut (unsweetened) - 2 tbsp
Sugar - 3/4 cup
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Nutmeg powder - 1/4 tsp
Ghee - 1 tbsp

PREPARATION

For Making Pastry

Combine all purpose flour and melted ghee into wide bowl. Knead well to a soft dough by adding little by little water.
Cover the dough and let it rest for 15 minutes.

For Making Filling

After the khoya is prepared. Scrap it all around the bowl if it is struck to the sides and mix it once.
Then heat 1 tbsp of ghee into a pan and empty khoya from bowl into the pan.
Saute the khoya till it slightly changes its colour . Do not worry if you see it becoming liquidy.
Then add in sugar and stir continuously till you get a thick mixture.
At some point you will see the khoya leaving the sides of the pan. Turn off the flame.
Now add all the chopped dry fruits, dessicated coconut, cardamom powder and nutmeg powder. Mix everything well and cool it completely.

After resting the dough for 15 minutes. Knead it once more and divide the dough into 30 small balls.
Roll out each ball into 3 inch circle. To make each chandrakala sweet, we need 2, 3 inch circle.
Keep 1 circle on rolling board and place 1 tbsp of filling at the center.
Then apply little water at the edges on the below circle and place another circle on it.
Stick all the edges properly to avoid any filling coming out while frying.
Then make the pattern by just twisting the egdes. Keep it cover with damp cloth and continue doing the same with remaining dough.
Heat oil for deep frying. Deep fry chandrakala until golden brown on both the sides . Drain them on paper towel and allow it to cool completely.
Them make the sugar syrup of 2 thread consistency. Dip each chandrakala into the syrup and garnish it with nuts.

Pichkari Thandai - Holi re!!! Holi re!!!!

2013-03-26T10:55:00.000-04:00

Happy Holi!!!!. As you all know friends, Holi is the festival of colors and also the celebration of harvest marking the climax of spring. Bonfires are lit marking both the end of winter and death of evil and proceeds from seasonal harvest grains, coconuts etc offered to the holy flames.

Holi comes on last full moon day of lunar month Phalguna also called as Phalgun Poornima as per Hindu calendar which falls in month of march. On this day people have fun throwing color powder and spray the colour using pichkari (toy gun filled with colourful water) at each other.

Holi festival marks the day when the devotee of Lord Vishnu, Bakht Prahlad, seated on the lap of demoness Holika was saved from the effect of the fire by God and the demoness got burnt instead. Here is the detail story taken from wikipedia - Please read << In Vaishnavism, Hiranyakashipu is the great king of demons, and he had been granted a boon by Brahma, which made it almost impossible for him to be killed. The boon was due to his long penance, after which he had demanded that he not be killed "during day or night; inside the home or outside, not on earth or in the sky; neither by a man nor an animal; neither by astra nor by shastra". Consequently, he grew arrogant and attacked the Heavens and the Earth. He demanded that people stop worshipping Gods and start praising respectfully to him.

According to this belief, Hiranyakashipu's own son, Prahlada, was a devotee of Vishnu. In spite of several threats from Hiranyakashipu, Prahlada continued offering prayers to Vishnu. He was poisoned by Hiranyakashipu, but the poison turned to nectar in his mouth. He was ordered to be trampled by elephants yet remained unharmed. He was put in a room with hungry, poisonous snakes and survived. All of Hiranyakashipu's attempts to kill his son failed. Finally, he ordered young Prahlada to sit on a pyre in the lap of Holika, Hiranyakashipu's demoness sister, who also could not die because she had a boon preventing her from being burned by fire. Prahlada readily accepted his father's orders, and prayed to Lord Vishnu to keep him safe. When the fire started, everyone watched in amazement as Holika burnt to death, while Prahlada survived unharmed. The salvation of Prahlada and burning of Holika is celebrated as Holi. >>

(Image Courtesy – Wikipedia)

As you all know each hindu festival has its own particular snacks on its particular day like Modak on Ganesh chaturthi, Patoli on Nag Panchami, Tilgul on Sankranthi etc. Holi is known for Thandai and Gujiyas or Koronji. Thandai is special beverage which is prepared with spices and nuts which also adds medicinal values to your body and gujiya are fried pastry snack which has flavorful filling prepared with khoya, coconut and dry fruits. Click for Mawa Gujiya recipe

The very common secret of some local places is people serve thandai mixed with bhaang. Bhaang is the local liquor which is not considered as drug but has sleeping aid and it has many medicinal values as per Ayurveda.

INGREDIENTS

Whole Almonds - 1/4 cup
Cashew nuts - 2 tbsp
Pistachios - 2 tbsp
Poppy seeds - 2 tbsp
Fennel seeds - 2 tbsp
Whole peppercons - 10
Green cardamom pods - 4
Milk - 5 cups
Water - 1 cup
Brown sugar + white sugar - 1 cup ( adjust as per your taste)
Few saffron strands
Rose water - 1 tsp
Rose syrup - 4 tbsp
Sliced almonds and chopped pistachios - to garnish

PREPARATION

Soak whole almonds, cashew nuts, pistachios, poppy seeds, fennel seeds, cardamom pods and peppercons into 1 cup of water for overnight.
Then morning grind the soaked ingredients to smooth paste. If you need more water while grinding, you may add.
Then pour 4 cups of milk into one pot and bring it to boil.
Add grounded paste and stir well. Allow it to boil on medium flame for atleast 10 to 15 minutes.
Mix in brown sugar, saffron strands and rose water. turn off the flame and allow to cool the milk completely.
At the time of serving mix in rose syrup into thandai and then garnish with sliced almonds and chopped pistachios at the top. Serve chilled....Enjoy

Notes

Few people prefer to grind the soaked ingredients into milk. But I prefer water.
You can also preserve grounded paste into freezer for later use. But if you refrigerate it, it may hardly stay for 1 to 2 days.
Rose water is optional. But I recommend to use for extra rich flavour.
Thandai can also be served without adding rose syrup.

Rajma Chawal

2013-03-25T16:08:00.000-04:00

Rajma Chawal is the very popular combo meal of Punjab. The rajma masala posted today is prepared in dhaba style. Truly telling I was really impressed by its taste, even my hubby appreciated me for this special rajma chawal.When you will taste this masala with rice you may surely get the feel of dhaba. This rajma masala also goes well with roti, phulka etc. So try this super duper combo meal.

Now a days you know there are variety of rajma available. I always like to use light red colored ones which cooks faster than kashmiri rajma which are dark brown in colour.

INGREDIENTS

Rajma /Red Kidney Beans – 1 cup
Onion,chopped – 1 big
Tomatoes,chopped – 2 medium
Ginger – 1 inch
Garlic – 3 big cloves
Red chilly powder – ¾ tsp to 1 tsp
Tumeric powder – ¼ tsp
Cumin powder – ½ tsp
Coriander powder – 1 tsp
Garam masala – ½ tsp
Amchur powder – ½ tsp
Oil – 1&1/2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Cilantro – To garnish

To Temper

Cloves – 3
Cinnamon stick – ½ inch
Green cardamom – 2 pods
Bay leaf – 1
Green chillies – 1, slitted
Asafoetida - a pinch

PREPARATION

Wash and soak rajma in water for about 7 to 8 hours or overnight.
In a pressure cooker heat oil and add cinnamon stick ,black cardamom, bay leaf, asafetida, green chilli and fry for a minute.
Grind onions and tomatoes into a smooth puree.
Also grind ginger and garlic into smooth paste or else you can use ginger garlic paste.
Now add the grounded onion-tomato mixture, ginger-garlic paste and fry until the raw smell goes off.
Now add all the dry masala powder red chili powder, tumeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala, amchur powder and salt and fry until oil leaves the edges.
Add rajma and fry for another 2 minutes everything and cover it and pressure cook for 2 whistles.
Once the pressure compleely releases out,open the cooker lid and check the gravy consistency. Add required amount of water and boil for another 5 minutes.
Finally garnish the gravy with chopped cilantro.
Serve hot with steamed basmatic rice or jeera rice.

Fulkopi Macher Jhol- Bengali style fish curry with cauliflower

2013-03-22T01:20:00.002-04:00

I had a keen interest to try some Bengali cuisines, so thought to start with this basic soupy curry prepared with fish and cauliflower. Fulkopi is cauliflower and macher is fish in Bengali, so the name of curry is Fulkopi Macher Jhol. Here you can use any sweet water fleshy fish like rohu, tilaphia. This curry is easy to prepare with simple ingredients and will satisfy your meal. So quickly let see the ingredients...

INGREDIENTS

Tilaphia fish: 2 fillet, cut into 2 inch pieces
Cauliflower: 5 medium sized florets
Tomato: 1 big
Green chilies: 2 nos
Cilantro – 2 tbsp
Onion paste: 2 tbsp
Ginger paste: 1 tsp
Cumin powder: 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder: 1 tsp
Chili powder: 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Salt to taste
Sugar: ¼ tsp (optional)
Oil: 3 tbsp

PREPARATION

Wash the cauliflower inwater and soak it in hot water along with salt for 10 minutes .
Wash the fish and cut into pieces. Apply tumeric powder and salt. Mix well and marinate for 10 minutes.
Combine ginger paste, cumin powder, coriander powder ,chili powder in 1/3 cup of water. Keep it aside.
Heat pan and add 2 tbsp of oil and fry the marinated fish pieces until they are golden brown on both the sides.
Once done, take out the pieces and in the same pan, add cauliflower florets along with tumeric and salt. Fry until cauliflower florets are light golden in colour. And take them out.
Into the same pan, add remaining oil and add onion paste. Fry till raw smell goes off.
Then add combined spice mixture and sauté till oil separates at the sides.
Add cubed tomato and fry till tomato cubes are soft.
Now add 1 cup of water and mix well.
Also add fried cauliflower and slitted green chillies. Cover the lid and let the floret get cooked and become soft.

Then add fried fish pieces. Check for the salt and also add pinch of sugar.
Cover and cook for 5 minutes so that fish can soak all the flavours into it.
Finally garnish with chopped cilantro.
Fulkopi Macher Jhol is ready to serve with hot rice.

Banana Chips

2013-03-19T21:36:00.001-04:00

Banana Chips are the all time favourite snack. These are the fried version of banana slices spiced up with tumeric and salt. People love to fry these chips in coconut oil. But I never use coconut oil in my cooking so fried them in normal canola oil. Some people for healthier version try these chips by baking or sometimes dehydrated.

Making these chips are not that difficult only important is that we require the best mandolin slicer to slice the banana. Adding tumeric powder to the chips gives out the good yellow colour. These fried chips become so crunchy you can have them immediately. Try these craving snack and do comment on what you think

INGREDIENTS

Raw Plantains -2 nos
Tumeric powder -1/2 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Oil - for frying

PREPARATION

Wash the plantain thoroughly in water. Cut both the ends and peel the skin of the plantains.
Take about 2 cups of water and mix in turmeric powder and salt.
Then slice the peeled plantains into this water mixture and keep it immersed in water mixture for at least 10 to 15 minutes. So that taste of salt gets into the chips and also the chips will get nice yellow color due to turmeric which is added into the water.
After 15 minutes, you need to take out all the chips and pat dry them on clean kitchen towel .
Meanwhile heat oil into the frying pan.
When oil is hot, carefully add the dried banana slices and fry till these crisp. You can make out with sizzling noise that comes while frying the chips. If the sizzling sounds stops then the chips are done.
Drain them on paper towel and enjoy with hot cup of tea or coffee.

NOTES

I have seen that while peeling the raw banana skin, our fingers gets black. The small tip to avoid is apply few drops of oil onto your palms before you start peeling the raw bananas.
Also another method is you can immerse plain banana slices into water. Then spice them with tumeric powder and salt and fry till crisp.

Spicy Fish Pickle

2013-03-18T19:30:00.000-04:00

Pickle is one condiment which is loved by most of the people. I too like it alot. But never tried any fish or non veg pickles. So thought to give a try. Believe my try was successful and pickle was super yummy and delicious. In this recipe, I used tilaphia fish fillet but you can make the pickle with any type of boneless or thorn-less fish. With the similar process one can also prepare prawn pickle or shrimps pickle. Very soon I shall come with shrimp pickle, till then let's see how to make the fish pickle.

INGREDIENTS

Boneless fish – 3 Fillet, chopped in small cubes( I used tilaphia fillet)
Ginger- 2 inch
Garlic- 1 whole
Green chilly- 7
Chilly powder- 1 &1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
Mustard powder- 3/4 tsp
Mustard seeds- ½ tsp
Fenu greek powder- 1/2 tsp
Clove- 4
Vinegar- ¼ cup
Curry leaves – 5 to 6
Salt to taste
Oil – 1 tbsp + few spoon of oil to fry the fish cubes

PREPARATION

Cut fish into small cubes and pat dry the cubes using paper towel.
Add tuneric powder, ½ tsp of red chilly powder and salt in the fish cubes and marinate it for 10 minutes.
Till then add ginger, garlic , cloves, green chillies and curry leaves in the mixer and grind it to coarse mixture. Do not grind these ingredients to smooth paste, coarse mixture is recommended.
Then fry the marinated fish cubes in oil till they are cooked evenly on both the sides. Take out the cubes on to the plate .Keep them aside.
In the same pan add mustard seeds and allow it to splutter for 20 seconds.
Then add grounded coarse mixture and sauté it till raw smell goes off.
Add salt, remaining red chilly powder and fry again for a minute.
Now add mustard powder, fenugreek powder and mix well.
Finally add fried fish cubes and vinegar. Mix everything well and simmer on low flame for atleast 1 to 2 minutes.
Once done, allow the pickle to cool down and then store it in air tight container.

Notes

Even though the pickle stays well outside, I prefer to refrigerate it for freshness.
Mustard seed powder and fenugreek powder are easily available in stores but you can also easily prepare it at home.
The same process can be used to prepare shrimp pickle or prawn pickle.

Sabudana kheer - MahaShivRatri Special

2013-03-10T16:23:00.002-04:00

I wish you all a Happy Mahashivratri . Mahashivaratri Festival or the ‘The Night of Shiva’ is celebrated with devotion and in honor of Lord Shiva, one of the deities of Hindu Trinity. People perform ritual worship of Shiva Lingam to appease Lord Shiva. It is also Believed that While married women pray for the well being of their husbands unmarried women pray for a husband like Lord Shiva, who is regarded as the ideal husband. (Source: http://www.jyotirlingas.com/festival-lord-shiva.html).

As a offering to god, I prepared sabudana kheer. Sabudana are the topioca pearls and its pudding or kheer is prepared on many religious occasion. So let see the recipe

INGREDIENTS

Sabudana or tapioca - 1/4 cup
Milk - 3 cups milk
Condensed milk – ½ tin ( can be replaced with ½ cup of sugar)
Big pinch of saffron strands
Cardamom powder -1 /2 tsp
Charoli or chironji – ¼ cup
Silvered almonds – 2 tbsp
Ghee – 1tsp

PREPARATION

Wash the tapioca pearls or sabudana and soak them in water pearls for 10 minutes and drain them. Keep it aside for about 15 -20 minutes.
In a thick bottomed pot, bring the milk to boil. Stir the milk continuously to prevent it from sticking at the bottom of the pot.
Add sabudana into the milk and cook till the sabudana plump and becomes soft. You can also check the sabudana by pressing them in between your fingers.
Mix in condensed milk, cardamom powder and saffron to the milk.
Meanwhile also fry the dry fruits and add them into the kheer. Simmer the kheer for 10 minutes while constantly stirring. Switch off the heat and cool for a while and pudding is ready to serve.

Carrot Halwa

2013-03-07T14:54:00.003-05:00

Carrot halwa or Gajar halwo is wonderful sweet dessert when served warm or chilled. This sweet dish is incredibly rich in its look and sweet in taste. Carrot adds its unique catching colour in the dessert to make the dessert to look more attractive and tempting. Halwa stays best for about 1 week when refrigerated. It can also be served with scoop of vanilla icecream. If you are really fond of variety in halwa, check out my Beetroot Halwa

INGREDIENTS

Carrot (grated) – 3 cups
Condensed milk - 1 tin
Ghee -1/2 cup
Cardamom pods – 4-5 nos
Milk (whole) – 1 cup
Cashew nuts – 10 no.
Raisins – 1-2 Tbsp
Slivered Almonds – 10 no
Saffron strands - few

PREPARATION

Combine the grated carrot and milk in a heavy bottomed pan and cook on medium high heat, occasionally until the moisture evaporates almost completely and the carrots are tender, about 30-35 minutes.
Then add in the condensed milk and stir to mix everything together. Then continue to cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally to avoid any sticking at the bottom of the pan. time At same also add 1/4 cup of ghee.At some point the halwa will start to leave the sides of the pan completely and will be kind of sticky in texture. Then mix in the cardamom powder and saffron strands. Stir well and cook again for 2 minutes.
When done turn off the flame.
Heat the remaining ghee on low heat. Add the cashewnuts , slivered almonds and raisins and saute for about a minute, until the raisins plump up and the cashews gets nice golden colour. Pour this over the halwa and serve warm or at room temperature.

Konkani Gooli - Easy Konkani Festive Sweet

2013-03-05T19:17:00.002-05:00

Today let me introduce you all to one of the easiest festive konkani sweet. These ladoo are named ad "Gooli" in Konkani language. They are prepared with fine variety of wheat flour and ghee. Then sweetened with powdered sugar. I am very fond of these ladoo. My mother always make it in large quantity and store it.
These ladoo lasts for month. And now I want you all to try these simple sweet and make your family happy.
Caution: When eating, do not talk. These ladoos gets stuck to the upper jaw. So be carefull.

INGREDIENTS

Makes 15 medium sized ladoo (Gooli)

Wheat flour(fine variety) - 2 cups
Ghee - 3/4 cup
Powdered sugar - 1 cup
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

PREPARATION

Heat wide bottomed pan and add ghee into it.
Once ghee melts add 1 cup of wheat flour and fry the flour till it slightly changes its colour.
When done, empty it into clean and dry plate.
Repeat the same process with remaining flour.
When you have finish frying the flour. Allow it to cool down for sometime.
Then mix in powdered sugar and cardamom powder.
Then start making ladoo. These ladoo may break while shaping. But no problem you can make them with little patience.
Notes: Check the sweetness. if needed add more powdered sugar.
If your not able to shape the ladoo, add more melted ghee.
Shape the ladoo with dry hand, if you want your ladoo to stay for many days.