Samosa.

Samosa is a delicious snack which we enjoy as anytime snack. Served with green chutney and tea. 

Ingredeints

To make dough

1 cup maida

3 tbsp sooji

2 tbsp oil/ghee

1 tsp ajwain 

Salt to taste

Water to knead stiff dough

To make the potato filling 

3 large potatoes, boiled, peeled and crumbled 

1/2 cup peas

1 tbsp ginger, finely chopped

1 green chilli

3 pods of garlic

1 tsp fennel seeds

2 tsp chopped coriander leaves

1/2 tsp haldi

1 tsp jeera powder 

1 tsp dhaniya powder

1 tsp red chilli powder 

2 tsp peanut oil/ghee 

1 tsp amchur /chat masala powder 

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

Method

* In a bowl add maida, ghee, ajwain and knead into a smooth stiff dough. Cover with a cloth and keep aside. 

To make the potato filling

* In a preheated pan pour oil/ghee, add fennel seeds, ginger, garlic, green chilli, saute well, cook for a while. 

*Add green peas, cook and add crumbled potatoes. 

*Add salt, haldi, coriander powder, jeera powder, red chilli powder, aamchur and garam masala. Mix well. 

*Finally add chopped coriander leaves. Keep it aside. 

* Divide the dough into 6 equal parts, use a clean bellan/rolling pin, roll the dough into  thin ovel shaped and cut them into half. 

*Make a cone as shown in the video, fill it with the potato filling and stick the sides  with water. 

*Continue making the entire set of samosas appropriately 12 of them. 

*Keep oil in the kadai, bring to medium heat, slowly put the Samosas and fry them two at a time. We have half cooked the Samosas and removed, later we fried it again in the evening to be served with tea. 

*Fry till golden brownish and crispy, serve with green chutney. 

*Its yum! 

Handvo a Gujarati dish

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. 

Cut the handvo using a knife or pizza cutter. 

Flip the handvo and cook further for about 7 to 8 minutes in law flame, remember to put the lid. 

Cook the handvo for about 10 to 15 minutes in law flame in a large pan, use a lid. 

Batter for handvo made out of idly rava, grated carrots, sweet corn, curry leaves, curd and water. 

A quick tadka with peanut oil, jeera, rai and once they splutter add prepared batter. 

Serve handvo with green chutney. Its delicious and quick tiffin which can be made anytime. 

The recipe for handvo is quite easy and simple. All you need is time in hand to cook handvo in slow flame. 

Ingredients 

1 cup roasted sooji/idly rava(MTR) 

1 cup curd

1 cup water

1/2 cup grated carrot 

1 cup sweet corn 

1/2 inch grated ginger

1 green chilli thinly sliced

A few curry leaves roughly chopped 

Salt as required 

2 tablespoons of ghee/peanut oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds 

1/2 tsp jeera

Method 

*In a bowl mix in all the above ingredients to a smooth idly consistency batter. 

*In a large heated pan pour oil, add mustard, jeera and go for a quick splutter. 

* pour the prepared batter. 

* Reduce the flame and Place the lid, cook for about10 to 15 minutes. 

*Use another plate to remove the handvo, grease the pan with ghee/Leftover peanut oil, bring the uncooked side to cook, flip it into the pan. Cook for further 8 to 10 minutes by placing the lid. 

*off stove, remove handvo into a serving plate, garnish with chopped coriander, a teaspoon of molagai podi, cut into desired shape, serve with choice of your chutney. 

*Its a dish which requires a few techniques to nail it, I am happy with the results. 

Note : 1 sachet Eno if you are not using MTR idly rava mix, I have not added Eno as the idly rava mix has all the ingredients. 

Gulab jamun kofta gravy

Kadai Paneer

Paneer or cottage cheese is an ingredient which can be used in many ways. Today we made a delicious dish from scratch. Like we made the kadai masala by roasting the ingredients, made a powder out of it then proceeded to make the gravy.

Kadai Paneer 

Ingredients

300 grams paneer cut into desired shape 

3 medium sized onions (2 for gravy, one cut into large pieces to be cooked with paneer)

3 large tomatoes (2 for gravy, 1 for adding to the paneer)

2 inch ginger ( 1/2 tsp finely chopped and few julians for garnish)

2 capsicums (cut into lengthwise) 

2 carrots (peeled cut into 2 inch length)

For the kadai masala 

1 tsp coriander seeds

1/2 tsp jeera

4 dry red chillies 

15 Black peppercorns

Make a dry roast, grind the ingredients into a coarse powder 

2 Bay leaves 

1 Cinnamon stick (1 inch long) 

1/2 tsp coriander seeds

1/2 tsp jeera

1 tsp ginger garlic finely chopped or paste

2 tbsp ghee

1/2 tsp turmeric 

1/2 tsp red chilli powder 

1/2 tsp garam masala 

1 tsp chopped coriander leaves 

Method

*In a preheated kadai pour ghee add bay leaves, cinnamon stick, coriander seeds, jeera and allow jeera to splutter. You can feel the mild fragrance of bay leaves and cinnamon. 

* Add chopped onions, saute for a while, add tomatoes and cook further, add dry masalas, a little water, pour 3 tbsp tomato purée,  cook till the ghee separates. 

* Remove the gravy from the kadai to the serving bowl. Keep aside. 

* Put the kadai back in the stove, pour 1 tbsp ghee add chopped onions, carrots, bell peppers, and finally sliced tomatoes, cook for few minutes. Add paneer slices, mix in add little salt, turmeric, red chilli powder, kadai masala and give a quick stir. 

*We will at this stage put the prepared gravy into the cooked paneer and vegetables. Mix in add little more water if required, finish with 3 tbsp cream, mix well, you will notice the brilliant colour comes to the kadai paneer, add leftover kadai masala, garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve with freshly made phulkas. 

Rice and Milk Kheer/Pal Payasam

Our festivals are incomplete without we making something special. The most laborious work of all is making delicious kheer or Payasam.

It was my mother's birthday and Vishu (A harvest festival)

I have promised Aru that I will make her favourite Payasam. 

Here we go the simple, quick and delicious Payasam recipe which I have made yesterday. 

Rice kheer 

Ingredients 

1/2 cup basmathi rice ( I have used a very small cup)

1 cup water

1/2 liter milk

1/4 tsp crushed green cardamom

1 tin milkmaid 

Method 

*Wash, and keep aside basmathi rice for about 20 minutes.

*In a pressure cooker, add rice, 1 cup water and half a litre milk, close lid, allow it to cook for 3 whistles. Remember we are not adding sugar or any other things at this stage.

*Once it reach room temperature, open the lid, check whether the rice is soft and well cooked, you can slightly smash it, or run a hand blender for few seconds. 

* Crush 4 to 5 green cardamom, use the peel in your tea, we are taking out the small fragrant cardamon, add the crushed cardamom to the kheer.

*Open the milkmaid tin and pour in the content to the kheer. Mix in well, a little more warm water if needed to remove any leftover residue from the tin. Gentle use a spatula to mix all the ingredients.

*Keep the cooker back to the stove, we will further cook the kheer for 2 minutes. Off the stove.

*The Payasam will have a mild pinkish colour. 

* Serve it warm or chill it in refrigerator and serve cold, both ways its delicious.

Notes

We generally don't add cashew nuts or ghee to milk kheer/Pal Payasam.

*You can use red broken rice instead of basmathi, but it will take more time to cook.

Gajjar Halwa

Gajjar Halwa

Today I am going to share with all of you readers my recipe for Gajjar Halwa.

 It is an India sweet savoured by all. It is mainly prepared in the Winter season, when Delhi carrots (red, long, thin) are available. 

 I hope you can make a very good halwa using this recipe. 


Gajjar Halwa

Ingredients:

2 kg Carrots 
1 litre Milk 
400 grams Sugar 
3 crushed Cardamom 
10 nos. Cashew nut  (broken into halves)
100 gram Ghee 

Method 

*Wash, peel and grate carrot. 

*In a thick bottom vessel ( I used pressure pan) pour milk and add the grated carrot. 

*Allow it to cook at a low flame for about 45 minutes.

* Stir it gently. You will see the milk reducing to 1/4 of the amount it was before. 

*Now add the sugar and the cardamom. Allow it to cook further for about 30 minutes. 

*Stir the halwa and simultaneously add a spoonful of ghee.

*By now you will notice that the ghee is separating  from the halwa in the vessel.

 

*Remove it from stove. In a small pan add a spoonful of ghee and the broken cashew nuts and allow it to roast till it turns golden brown. 

*Add the cashew nuts to the halwa and serve hot. 

*The aroma of the fresh ghee and the luscious halwa makes it a tempting dessert.

Bisibele Bhath, curd rice and beans thoran

Bisibele bhath is a traditional Karnataka cuisine which is relished with boondi, chips or mixture.

We being from Palakkad loves to enjoy this delicious dish with subzi, Raitha and other accompaniments.

Curd rice is an integral part of our daily meals, so with bisibele bhath we make curd rice also. 

Bisi in kannada means hot. So hot hot bisibele bhath for you. It's also called 3 B's as a short form! 

Bisibele bhath

Ingredients 

  1 cup Basmathi  rice

  1/2 cup Tuvar dal 

  1 teaspoon gingly Oil 

  5 tablespoons of ghee 

  1/2 teaspoon Turmeric powder

  10 shallots     

  10 French  beans 

  10 avarakkai / hyacinth beans

  2 medium sized  carrots

  2 medium sized  Potatoes 

A few curry leaves 

1 green Capsicum chopped into small pieces 

1/2 cup fresh peas/frozen

 For dry roasting (This powder goes into bisibele bhath towards the end of the process and it taste good) 

 1 teaspoon Coriander  seeds

 6 to 7  Red chillies (I use 4 for colour and 3 for spice) 

 2 teaspoon   Chana dal 

 1 teaspoon  Urad dal 

 1/2 teaspoon methi seeds (you can skip this as we will adding methi seeds in the tadka) 

A small piece of heeng cake 

 1 inch piece Cinnamon 

 3 to 4 Cloves

 3 green cardamom 

 2 Bay leaves

 

Dry roast and make coarse powder 

(You can use MTR bisibele bhath powder 2 tbsp instead of making roast masala powder,  as I did yesterday) 

  For the Tadka

   1 teaspoon Mustard seeds 

   1/2 teaspoon Methi seeds

   A few curry leaves 

   Salt as required

tamarind pulp - 2 tbsp (soak and cook tamarind and extract pulp), 

yesterday I have soaked lemon sized tamarind in warm water, extract the liquid by squeezing out the tamarind, which was later boiled for about 10 minutes till the raw smell goes away. 

Method 

*Wash and mix tuvar dal and rice togther. Keep aside for 20 minutes in the meantime you can do rest of the preparations. 

*Cut potato, beans, capsicum carrot and onion into cubes. In a heated pan add cinnamon stick, clove, bay leaves and elachi allow it to release its aroma.

* Add chopped vegetables, green peas, onion first then other vegetables. 

*Just saute for 5 minutes. In pressure cooker add washed rice, dal and add vegetables.add turmeric powder, Add  5 cups of water(I used room temperature water) and cook till two whistles.

* Now add tamarind pulp /( boil tamarind juice for a good 10 minutes till the raw smell goes away) and further boil for about 5 minutes, at this stage you can add 2 cups of boiling water to adjust the consistency of your bisibele bhath which is served semi solid. 

*Add bisebele bhath powder. Mix well. 

*In a small heated pan pour ghee add mustard let it splutter,add methi seeds,  Add chopped capsicum,  curry leaves and coriander leaves. 

*Saute for two minutes and add to prepared bisibele bhath. 

*Serve Bisibele bhath garnish with Kara boondi, Raitha, beans thoran/ bhindi subzi and crispy potato or banana chips. 

Beans and carrot thoran(where grated coconut is used) 

Ingredients

250 grams Beans 

2 medium sized carrots 

1 green chilly 

2 tbsp coconut 

A few curry leaves 

salt to taste

For frying

2 tsp coconut oil/ sunflower oil 

1/2 tsp mustard seed 

1/2 tsp urad dal 

1 broken red chilli

Method 

*Wash, trim the edges of beans and carrot  chop into small pieces. 

*In a heated kadai pour oil add mustard seeds,urad dal allow mustard to crackle. Add broken chilly. 

*Now add chopped beans and carrot. Allow it to cook in high flame, stirring occasionally. 

*You can add or sprinkle a little water if you wish to beans so that it gets cooked faster. In a mixer grind coconut and green chilly add this to the cooked soft, tender beans. 

*Mix well add curry leaves. Serve with Bisibele bhath.

Curd rice

Ingredients

1/2 cup Rice 

1/4 cup boiled and cooled milk 

3 cups curd 

salt as required

For tadka

1 tsp gingly oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp urad dal 

curry leaves - a few

green chilly - 2

ginger - a small piece

4 curd chilli/tayir molagai

Method 

*Wash and cook rice adding 2 cups of water in pressure cooker. 

*Remove from stove allow the rice to reach normal temperature. 

*You can spread rice on a plate for cooling down. 

*Place the rice in a bowl add 1/4 glass of milk(boiled and cooled) and 3 cups of tayir(curd) use your hand to smash the rice. 

*If you wish you can use a hand blender in low speed. 

*You can also add a cup of water if the curd rice is too thick. 

*The curd rice should be semi solid state.

*In a small heated pan pour oil add mustard and urad dal, allow mustard to crackle.

* Now add chopped green chilly, ginger and heeng powder and curry leaves. Saute for a while add the tadka to prepared curd rice. 

*Add fried tayir molagai. Serve it with choice of your favourite pickle.