Wheat Rava Pulao

           This recipe is from a regional magazine which I read regularly. It was a welcome change from the normal wheat rava upma. Even the upma haters of my family enjoyed this simple and healthy pulao.

 

 

Ingredients:

Wheat Rava – 1 cup

Water – 2 cups

Cinnamon, Cloves, Bay leaves – 2 each

Garlic pods– 6

Mint leaves– few

Chopped Carrot, beans, Peas – 1 handful

Onion – Thin sliced – 1 handful

Tomato – ½

Turmeric – ¼ tspn

Green chillies – 2 (slit slightly)

Salt – to taste

Oil – 1 tbsp

 Method :

  Heat the oil in a pan and add cloves, cinnamon, birinji leaves, mint and sauté. Then add the onion, veggies, tomato, garlic, chillies and turmeric and sauté. Now add the water and salt. Once the water boils, add the rava and cook till done.

This recipe sent to Cook click n devour's c'mon chefs cook up a main dish event and only food for growing children at shruti's rasoi started by Pari.

Pasiparuppu Payasam / Moongdal kheer

Wishing you a new year filled with happiness and joy. Let’s welcome the new year with this easy yet yummy and healthy sweet.

 

 

Ingredients :

Moong dal – 1 cup

Achu vellam / Block jaggery – 7

Raw rice – ¼ cup + 1 tbsp

Coconut – ½ cup

Cardamom – 7 pods

Cashew – 8-10 nos

Raisins – 8-10 nos

Ghee – 1 tspn

 

 

Method :

Grind the raw rice, coconut and cardamom together. The ground mixture should be coarse. Cook the moongdal with enough water. Make sure the moong dal is not mashed and add the ground mixture. Meantime, powder the jaggery, add water till it immerse and bring to a boil. Add the jaggery syrup to the dal and stir well. Let it boil once and switch off. Heat the ghee and fry the cashews and raisins till golden brown and add it to the kheer. Serve hot.

 
Sending the entry to only food for growing children at shruti's rasoi started by Pari.

Gulkand flavoured Paneer Coconut ladoos

                         Am having this homemade paneer in the fridge for more than 3 days. It was almost midnight when I made the paneer and was too sleepy to set it as a block. Ended up having crumbled paneer. I already had some desiccated coconut and gulkand at hand, so made these moist little addictions today.

Ingredients:

Crumbled Paneer – ¾ cup (tightly packed)

Desiccated Coconut – 1 cup
Sugar – ½ cup
Water – 4 tbsp
Milk – ¼ cup + 1 tspn
Gulgand – 2 tbsp

Cooking Method:

Knead the paneer with a tspn of milk into a soft dough. Add Sugar and water in a pan and heat till the sugar is dissolved. Add the paneer dough and mix well for 3 mins. Now add the desiccated coconut and keep stirring till the moisture evaporates. Now add the remaining milk and stir till moisture evaporates. Switch off the stove. Once warm, add the gulgand and mix well. After it is cooled completely, refrigerate for an hour and form ladoos. Store refrigerated in an airtight container.

Cook’s Note:

Since Paneer is added it is best to consume within 2-3 days. But believe me, it will vanish before that.

Sending the entry to only food for growing children at shruti's rasoi started by Pari.

Churma Ladoo / Chapathi Ladoo

I made these ladoos for karthigai deepam. This is a famous dish in Gujarat / Rajasthan where it is offered as Prasad during prayers. The original recipe is sinfully gheeful J. The wheat flour dough is made into slightly flat balls and deep fried in ghee and then powdered to make ladoos. I tried this healthier version which is equally delicious. This low fat version can be made using leftover chapatis too.

 

 

 

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour – 1 cup

Salt – a pinch

Powdered jaggery – ¼ cup

Ghee – 2 tbsp

Raisins – 7-8 nos

Cardamom powder – a pinch

Water / Milk – as required (to knead the dough)

Cooking Method:

        Take the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Add warm water/milk and knead to make a hard dough. Keep it covered for half an hour. Now divide the dough into small balls and roll them into thick chapathis. Place them on a griddle and roast both the sides in low flame till it becomes hard. Once all the chapathis are done, cool them and powder them finely.

         Heat the ghee in a pan and fry the raisins. Now add the jaggery and once it melts, add the powdered chapathis and cardamom powder, mix well and switch off. Once warm, make ladoos and store in an airtight container.

Cook’s Note:

1. If you find it difficult to form the ladoos, adding some melted ghee or warm milk will help to bind the ladoos well.

Sending entry to Only - Diwali Treats hosted by nivedhanam originally by Pari

 

Badam Katli / Almond Fudge

 

                 My friend Sara, who lives around 9000 miles away from me, sent these yummy treats for diwali via watsapp J. The very sight of the neatly cut katlis made me drool. Tried it out asap and it was yummm... Thank you dear sar !

 

 

 

Ingredients:

 

Almonds – 1 cup

Sugar – 1 cup

Milk – ¼ cup

Ghee – 4 tbsp

Cooking Method:

          Soak the almonds overnight and peel the skin. Grind the almonds alongwith sugar and milk. Grease a tray with ghee and keep aside. Heat a nonstick pan and add the ground paste. Keep stirring. Add the remaining ghee in between. At one stage, the almond mixture will thicken and start leaving the pan.

       Switch off the stove and pour the fudge into the greased tray and spread it out. Press the top surface with a greased spatula. Cut into desired shape once warm. Let it cool completely and store in an airtight container.

This entry is sent to Kid's delight-festive treats hosted @ nivedhanam originally created by Valli of spiceyourlife.

 

Mini Rasgullas - with natural colouring

              I was reading an article on natural food colors just before making these mini rasgullas for diwali. The following natural ingredients were mentioned in that.

Yellow – Saffron, Turmeric

Pink – Beetroots

Purple – Purple cabbage

Green – Spinach

As I had beets and turmeric powder at hand, tested yellow and pink colors with the rasgullas and it turned out good.

Ingredients:

Milk – 1 litre

Curd – ½ cup

Ice cubes – 12 nos
Water -3 cups
Sugar – 2 cups
Elachi powder – a pinch
Nuts – For garnish

Method:

Boil the milk well and cool it. Once cooled remove the cream layer formed on the top of the milk. Heat the milk again. Once it is hot, simmer the flame and add the curd gradually. Keep stirring till the whey separates completely. Now switch off the stove. Add the ice cubes and mix well.

Tie the cloth to the sink tap and hang it for an hour without disturbing. After that, take the channa(crumbly paneer) and kneed it for 10-15 mins gently till it forms a smooth dough.
Pour the water in a wide pressure cooker, add the sugar & cardamom powder to it and bring it to a rolling boil. In the meantime, roll the channa into small equal sized balls. I got some 20 balls.

Once the sugar syrup has come to a boil, add the channa balls to it and close the pressure cooker. Cook in a medium flame till one whistle. After that, simmer the flame and cook for another 5 mins and switch off the stove.

Wait till the pressure is released and open the lid. The rasgullas would have doubled in size. Let it cool, refrigerate, garnish with nuts and serve chilled J

Cook’s Note:

1.Kneading the channa is an important process. It helps to make nice, firm rasgullas.

2. Once the rasgullas are cooked, you can remove them and just cook the syrup for one more whistle and then add the rasgullas if you prefer the syrup to be of  a thicker consistency.

This entry goes to Only - Diwali treats hosted @ Nivedhanam and created by Pari. 



 

 

Paneer Rajma Masala

The first time I bought rajma, I didn’t have any idea about it and I got it just for the looks. It really LOOKED delicious J. After coming home, I searched the web and got some recipes. After cooking it ‘n’ number of times, I have developed my own version. The whole house will be fillied with a yummy aroma whenever I cook it. Do check it out for yourself !

Ingredients:

Rajma – 1 cup

Paneer cubes – 1 cup
Fine chopped onion – ¼ cup
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tspn
Kasoori methi – 2 tbsp
Coiander leaves – for garnish
Salt – to taste
Oil – 2 tsp
Cumin seeds – ½ tspn
To sauté & grind:
Onion – 2
Tomatoes – 3
Red chillies – 4
Coriander seeds – 2 tspn
Saunf – 2 tspn
Cloves – 2
Cardamom pods – 2
Cinnamon – ¼ inch
Mace / Jathipathri – 1 small piece
Star Anise / Annasi mokku – 1
Caper / Marathi mokku – 1 small piece
Black stone Flower / Kalpasi – 1

Cooking Method:

Soak the rajma in water overnight. Pressure cook it for 4-5 whistles. Keep aside.

Chop the onion and tomatoes. Heat 1 tspn oil in a pan and sauté all the whole spice(cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, black stone flower, caper, mace) alongwith coriander seeds, saunf and red chillies. Add the onion and fry till transparent. Switch off the stove once the tomatoes turn mushy. Cool and grind to a fine paste.

 Heat the remaining oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds. Once they crackle add the ginger garlic paste and sauté till raw smell is gone. Add the fine chopped onion and fry till golden brown.

Now add the ground paste and sauté for five minutes. Now add the cooked rajma and paneer. Add a cup of water and simmer the stove till the gravy thickens.

 Switch off the stove, add the coriander leaves and kasuri methi, mix well.

Cook’s Note:

1. The pressure cooking time will vary depending on the rajma variety.
2. You can adjust the number of chillies according to your taste.

Linking this to motions and emotions party , sidedish mela of cookingforallseasons.