NUTS BURFI

This burfi is similar to Choco- Cashew Badam Burfi, with mild alteration.

NUTS BURFI

INGREDIENTS:- 

( The cup which I used for this receipe is, 1 cup = 200 gms)

Cashew, Badam and Walnut = 1and 1/2 cup
Maida / All purpose flour = 1 cup
Ghee = 1/2 cup

Sugar = 1 and 1/2 cup
Water = 3/4 cup


Cardamom powder = 1/2 tsp
Nutmeg powder = 1/4 tsp
Safron Strings = 10

METHOD:-

Grease a plate with 1 tsp of ghee and set aside. Make a coarse powder of the nuts, walnuts, almonds and cashew.

Sieve maida before preparing.

Heat a kadai, add sugar and water. Bring the sugar-water to a boiling condition. The suitable stage for this burfi is (oru kambi padham ), one -string or 2nd stage. Click here for Sugar Syrup Stages.

In a separate pan, heat Ghee, till smoke emerges from it. Add Maida to it and stir continously for 4 mins, till it is cooked. Now add, the coarse powder of the nuts and mix well. Add Cardamom powder, Nutmeg powder and safron strings. Stir well. Switch off the flame.

When the Sugar syrup is ready, switch off the flame.

Add / Pour Maida-nuts mixture to this sugar syrup and stir continously to avoid lumps.

Now, heat this pan and stir continuously, till it leaves the sides of the pan. Transfer it to a greased plate and allow it to cool down.

After half an hour, tilt this plate ( i used aluminium foil paper), on another plate. Please check, whether the burfi is hard enough to cut.Using a cup or a spatula,   smoothly tap the greased plate, so that the burfi falls to the foil/plate.

Using a knife, cut into desired shapes.

THEN-KHUZAL MURRUKKU...(without urid dal flour)

THEN-KHUZAL MURUKKU

I'm preparing this murukku for the first time.

My two little kids likes murukku and my friend suggested me this easy and simple murrukku receipe...


INGREDIENTS:-

Besan Flour / Kadalai maavu = 1 cup (I used 200gms cup)

Rice Flour / Arisi maavu = 1 cup



Chilli powder = 1 tsp

Black Pepper Powder = 1 tsp

Ajwain seeds/ Oregano / Omam = 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds / Jeeragam = 1/2 tsp

Turmeric Powder = 1/4 tsp

Asafoetida = 1/4 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil / Butter = 4 tsp / 20gms



Oil for Deep Frying...


METHOD:-

Heat Oil in a kadai / pan for Deep frying.

In a bowl, (i used Aluminium foil tray), except oil for Deep Frying, mix all the other ingredients one by one and mix well. Add water little by little and prepare the dough for making murukku, and make big balls using dough.

In a presser, ( Murukku making ), put the then-khuzal mould, and apply little oil, inside the presser ( to avoid dough sticking to the inner sides of the presser).





Make Murukku on back side of the plates.




Check the oil, by dropping a pinch of dough into the oil. If the dough rises immediately, the oil is ready for frying.

Keep in low flame.
Just, tilt the plate above the oil for frying, murukku automatically falls into the hot oil. Murukku gets cooked with bubbles around it with ssssshhh sound and it rises from the oil, tilt the other side.Now keep the flame in medium. Once the sound goes, remove the murrukku and transfer it to a strainer. Remove the murukku on time, otherwise it gets burnt. Again, once the oil is hot enough, start making murukku.


Compele the process for the whole dough. About 20 to 25 murukku can be obtained (depending upon the size of the murukku).

This Murukku can be had with milk-tea, or as snacks or with tiffin sambar.

GULAB JAMUN

Easy and Simple, favourite of Children, and one of the popular festive dessert

INGREDIENTS:

Instant Gulab jamun mix - 200g
Sugar - 800g
Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
Saffron - 10 strands (optional)
Oil - to deep fry
Milk - 1 teaspoon

METHOD:
1. In a vessel, add sugar and 800ml of water and allow to boil.
2. Add a teaspoon of milk, so that the impurities come upwards along with lather and can be removed by discarding the lather. Boil until the sugar syrup is sticky. Do not over boil. Add cardamom powder and Saffron. Keep aside.
3.In a bowl, add the Instant Gulab jamun powder, smooth the mix crushing the lumps with hand, add water little by little and prepare a soft dough and keep aside for 10 to 15 minutes.
4. Make small smooth balls (small gooseberry size) without any cracks. If cracks appear then the dough is hard, sprinkle little water and knead again.

5. Heat oil in a tawa, add a bit of the dough, if it raises to the top immediately, then the oil is ready to cook. 

6. Bring the flame to low, drop the dough balls one by one, the balls can be cooked in batches, so add oil accordingly.
7. Do not cook on high flame, since the inner part of the dough ball has to be cooked well, otherwise it will be under cooked and the sugar syrup will not be absorbed.  
8. The ball will increase in size and starts browning. Keep stirring gently, so that all sides are cooked evenly.
9. Remove the dough balls when it becomes dark brown in colour and allow to cool for a while before dropping in the sugar syrup. 
10. The sugar syrup has to be absorbed, so keep aside for an hour.
11. Tasty and delicious Gulab Jamuns are ready.

Note:

• Do not drop the cooked dough balls when the sugar syrup is hot.
• Do not fry the dough balls in high flame.
• If the sugar syrup is cold, heat for a while before dropping the balls.    

  

POTTUKADALAI URUNDAI/ BROKEN CHANNA BALLS

It is one of the healthy snack, very simple to prepare and less time consuming and is a healthy one

INGREDIENTS:

Pottukadalai - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Cardamom - 1/2 tsp
Poppy seeds/ Kasakasa - 1/2 tsp
Coconut - 4 tsp (optional)
Salt - a pinch
Ghee/Oil - 4 to 5 tsp

METHOD:
1. Dry roast Kasakasa, Pottukadalai in a tawa and keep aside.
2. Dry roast coconut until it turns golden brown and keep aside.
3. In a mixer, add kasakasa and pottukadalai and grind to coarse powder.
4. Transfer the contents to a bowl and mix with coconut, cardamom powder and salt.    
5. In the mixer, powder the sugar and add to the above and mix well.
6. Heat oil/ghee in a pan, add little to a portion of the mix and make into small sized ball by mixing well.
7. See to that the ball should be tight, if not add ghee/oil and make the ball.
8. Pottukadalai Urundai is ready.

Note:

• Instead of giving biscuits and other junk food to our children, we must introduce such snacks to our children and tell about the health benefits.  
• Even Groundnut balls, Sesame balls are much healthier and can be given to our children.

OMAPODI

 Simple evening snack to have with tea or coffee. Along with sambar it taste well. Can be used in bhel puris and a favourite of snack many

INGREDIENTS:

Besan flour/ gram flour/ kadalai maavu -  1 cup
Rice flour - 1 cup
Omam/ Oregano - 1/2 tsp
Red chilly powder - 1 tsp (optional)
Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Oil - 2 tsp (for mixing in dough)
Salt
Oil - for deep frying  

METHOD:
1. In a bowl add Omam, 1/4 cup of boiling water and keep aside. Let it cool.
2. In a bowl, add Besan flour rice flour, salt, red chilly powder, turmeric, asafoetida, warm oil and mix well. Strain the Omam water and mix with the flour. Add water little by little and make a soft sticky dough.

3. In a presser, insert the mould with small holes, place a handful of dough in the presser, and close the lid.
4. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed tawa, add a portion of dough to the oil, if it raises immediately, the oil is ready.
5. Squeeze the dough in big circles from the ends to the center at a single stretch.
6. Keep the oil to medium, flip the other side and fry till golden brown.
7. Remove from the oil and place on a tissue to remove excess oil and allow to cool.
8. Break in to pieces and store in an air tight container.
9. Tasty snack is ready.

Note:

• Do not use too much omam, the omapodi will taste bitter.
• If the omapodi turns red while frying, reduce the flame to low.
• It is best to deep fry omapodi in medium flame after being squeezed in oil.
• If the dough is little hard to press, sprinkle little water and knead the dough again.      

 
 

SWEET SOMAS

This is one of the famous South Indian sweet that can be made using various fillings, either sweet or spice

INGREDIENTS:

Maida - 1 cup
Rava/ Sooji - 1 tsp
Ghee - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - for deep frying

For filling
Fried gram dhal/Udaitha kadalai - 1/4 cup
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Poppy seed/ Kasakasa - 1/4 tsp
Coconut - 2 tsp (grated finely)
Cashew - 4 (chopped finely)
Badam - 4 (chopped finely)

METHOD:
1. In a bowl add maida, rava, salt and ghee and mix well. Add little water and knead to a dough as we prepare for pooris. Rest it for 30 minutes.
2. In a tawa, roast kasakasa, udaithakadalai, coconut, badam & cashews each separately.
3. In a mixer, add kasakasa and udaitha kadalai and grind to a powder, add cashew and badam and whip gently. Do not over grind.
4. Transfer to  a plate, add roasted coconut and cardamom powder and mix well.
5. Add sugar to the mixer and grind to powder and add to the above mix.
6. Mix all the contents together and set aside.

7. Make balls of desired size using the dough.
8. Using a rolling pin, flatten a ball into a thin layer, place a spoon of filling in the and grease half semi circle with little water and close with the other semi circle of the layer.
9. Otherwise, the sealed somas can be pressed with fingers so that the filling doesn't come out. 
10. Using a Somas cutter, trim the sides.
11. Collect the scrapes and it can be rolled with other balls.
12. Prepare all the dough balls with stuffing and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
13. Heat oil in a tawa, drop a small portion of the dough, if it raises in the oil immediately, then the oil is ready for deep frying.
14. Drop 2 or 3 somas at a time and wait till it puffs up well and lower to medium flame so that it gets cooked well. Before dropping in oil, check whether the filling is properly sealed.
15. After the somas turns into golden brown, remove from oil and place in a tissue, so that excess oil is drained.
16. Tasty and crispy Sweet Somas is ready.

See for Pottukadalai Urundai made with left over filling, in this blog

Note:

• Coconut is optional. If you prefer to use it roast it well until golden brown so that the shelf life of Somas will be more.
• To remain crisp, the balls should be rolled thinely otherwise the somas will become soft.
• Rava is added to get crispness.
• The left over inner stuffing can be made used to prepare ladoos or stuffing for parathas.

BATTER VARIETIES - SET DOSA /SET DOSAI

Set Dosa is the opposite of Crispy Dosa ( Click here for DOSA BATTER or Crispy Dosa).

But it will be very soft.

SET DOSAI (side 1)

SET DOSAI (side 2)

INGREDIENTS:-

Idli Rice --- 2 cups ( 1 cup = 200gms)

Parboiled Rice -- 1 cup

Raw Rice --- 1 cup

Cooked Rice --- 1 and 1/2 cup

Urid Dal --- 1/2 cup (100 gms)

Fenugreek seeds --- 1/2 tsp (soak overnight)

Salt to taste...


METHOD:-

Wash and soak Idli Rice, Parboiled Rice and Raw rice together for 5 hours.

Wash and Soak Urid Dal for 2 hours. {Note:- Fenugreek is already soaked overnight.}

After the specified time (5 hours), first grind the urid dal with fenugreek seeds together to a smooth paste. Remove the batter and store it in vessel.

Now, grind the soaked rice varieties to 90% (not to a fine paste). Transfer this grinded rice mixture to Urid dal and add salt.

Grind the cooked rice to a fine paste and add to the batter. Mix well using hands. It helps in fermentation. Check the consistency, if required, add water. Let it ferment for 8 to 10 hours.

After fermentation mix well using spatula.

Batter is ready to make dosas. Refrigerate the batter when not in use.

KAJA BOLI

KAJA BOLI


This receipe, is usually prepared during Diwali and other special occasions. And it is my one of my favourite sweet.

INGREDIENTS:-

FOR MAKING KAJA ....

Maida / All purpose flour = 1kg

Rava = 100gm

Salt = 1/2 tsp

oil/dalda/ ghee = 50ml

Water = for kneading the dough (like poori dough)

Oil for Deep frying


FOR SUGAR SYRUP:-

Sugar = 1.5 Kg

Heat a kadai, and add sugar with little water and allow the sugar to boil, to obtain kambi padham or Sticking stage ( Click here forSugar syrup stages ).


METHOD:-


In bowl, add maida, rava, salt and mix well. Add the melted ghee and mix well. Add water little by little and knead pthe dough as we prepare for Pooris.
Set aside the knead dough for 15 minutes.

In the meantime, prepare the sugar syrup.

Also, Heat oil in a separate kadai for deep frying kajas.

Now, take a lemon sized ball of the dough and flatten thinly...




Now, roll and cut into small equal pieces...




Now, take one piece , and press it in center and flatten( not thinly). Fold it to semi circle, and again fold it to obtain a cone shape. Slightly press the cone shape with the rolling pin.




Now, Kajas are ready for frying.

Fry the kajas, as we fry pooris...


Immerse in sugar syrup, immediately after frying, but after taking from jeera, keep kaja bolis separately in a plate, so that they may not stick with each other.


Tasty kaja bolis are ready... Tastes better, when it is cooled down to room temperature...