MOONG DHAL HALWA | INSTANT HALWA

Moong dhal halwa is a special and classic delicacy of Rajasthan. This dessert is creamy with exotic aroma and done using split moong dhal (yellow dhal), nuts and lots of ghee. The authentic way of cooking is  time consuming and takes lots of mixing and stirring. But here, I have done using roasted and powdered moong dhal and can be done quickly with the same taste.

• Badam Halwa
• Carrot Halwa
• Kasi Halwa 
• Beet root Halwa
• Asoka Halwa 

INGREDIENTS:

Moong dhal - 1 cup

Sugar - 1 and 1/4 cup

Milk - 1 cup

Water - 1 and 1/2 cup

Cardamom - 1 tsp

Kesar/ Saffron - a little

Ghee - 1/4 cup

Cashew

Badam

Pistachios (optional)

METHOD:

1. Wash moong dhal well and pat dry for few minutes.

2. Add little ghee and dried moong dhal and saute on low flame until nice aroma comes out.

3. The colour of the moong dhal should change into orange red. Allow to cool and grind to a little coarse powder  and keep aside.

4. In a thick tawa, add little ghee and roast the nuts and almonds and keep aside.

5. In the same tawa, add powdered moong dhal and little ghee and stir on low flame for few minutes. See that the moong dhal is well coated with ghee.

6. Heat the given quantity of milk and water in a pan and add to the moong dhal little by little, since it will splutter.

7. Keep on stirring while adding the hot milk and water.

8. The moong dhal will be well cooked and froth a bit and will absorb the water and milk in few minutes.
 9. Add sugar and kesar, remaining ghee and mix well and cook on low flame.

10. At first, it will turn watery and later the sugar will be absorbed.

11. Add Cardamom powder, mix well and cover with a lid and cook on low flame for few minutes.

12. The Halwa will start to leave the sides of the pan. Add roasted nuts and almonds and mix well.

13. Tasty and delicious MOONG DHAL HALWA is ready.

Note:

• See that the moong dhal is not very coarse. It will not be cooked well while adding water and milk.
• If adding only ghee is not preferred, oil can be replaced.
• Milk can be avoided and water can be used instead.

VAZHAIPOO VADAI

Vazhaipoo vadai is one of the healthy recipes of South India.It is very crispy. Many recipes like kootu, usili, sambar etc. can be done using Vazhaipoo/ Banana flower. Children often resist eating vazhapoo, which is very good for stomach health. It is quite time consuming process to clean the florets. But keeping in mind the health benefits, it can be included in kitchen once in a week. Tender and reddish flower tastes awesome with less bitterness. When soaked in buttermilk the bitterness reduces and poriyal or kootu can be prepared. But for preparing Vadai, it need not be soaked in buttermilk.

INGREDIENTS:

Bengal gram/ Kadalai paruppu - 1/2 cup

Chopped Vazhaipoo - 1 cup

Red/ Green chilly - 3

Fennel/ Sombu - 1/2 tsp

Gram flour - 1 tsp (optional)

Coriander leaves - a handful

Curry leaves - little

Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp

Oil - for deep frying

Salt

METHOD: 

1. Wash and  soak Bengal gram for 2 hours.

2. Drain the water completely.

3. In a mixer, add bengal gram, chilly, fennel and grind to a coarse paste without adding water.

4. Remove the mixture in a wide bowl.

5. Chop vazhaipoo finely and add to the mixture.

6. Add required salt,gram flour, asafoetida, curry leaves, chopped coriander leaves and mix well using hand so that all ingredients are blended properly.

7. Make vadas of desired shape and arrange on a plate.

8. Heat oil, drop a little batter, if it raises immediately to the top the oil is ready for frying.

9. Drop vadas one by one and deep fry until golden brown.

10. Tasty and crispy VAZHAIPOO VADAI is ready.  

 

Note:

• Adding gram flour gives crispness to the vada. 

PANEER GRAVY using khoya

This is a  mild gravy with sweetishness, using less spices and with rich taste. This is done using Paneer and instant unsweetened khoya/pal kova. It differs in taste and preparation is also different compared to other paneer side dishes  and less time consuming. Khoya can be prepared in home or else can be bought outside. This dish goes well with chappathi, roti, naan and dosa. Children will surely enjoy this dish since it is less spicy and tastes awesome.

•  Paneer recipes

INGREDIENTS:

Paneer - 200g

Milk powder - 50g

Onion - 2

Tomato - 3

Milk - 1/2 cup 

Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp

Red chilly/Sambar powder - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Ginger - 1 inch stick

Garlic pods - 4

Cloves - 2

Cinnamon - 1

Cardamom - 1

Kasuri methi - 1 tsp

Coriander leaves - little 

Ghee - 3 tsp

Salt 

METHOD: 

1. To prepare instant kova, add milk powder and little ghee in a bowl.

 2. Heat 1/4 cup of milk and add to the milk powder, mix well and keep aside.

3. In a dosa tawa, cut paneer into cubes and roast on all sides for a while. No need to add ghee.

4. Chop tomato into pieces and grind to a paste along with ginger and garlic.

5. In a tawa, heat a tsp of ghee, add cloves, cinnamon and cardamom and saute for a while.

6. Add finely chopped onions and cook well till the onion changes translucent.

7. Add all the powders, stir for a minute and add the tomato paste.

8. Mix well and cook it covered till the raw smell goes off and till it comes together. Add little ghee if needed.

9. Add instant kova and mix well. Add remaining milk and adjust the gravy consistency.

10. Add the roasted paneer cubes, mix well and cook it covered for few minutes. Add little water if the gravy is thick.

11. Add kasuri methi and chopped coriander leaves.

12. Tasty, aromatic and mild Paneer gravy is ready to be served.

Note:

• If store bought kova, see to that it is unsweetened.
• Ghee can be replaced by oil.
• Tomatoes can be chopped finely and added instead of grinding. 
• Ginger and garlic can be crushed and used.

 

Mixed Vegetable Bonda

This is another version of urad dhal vadai. Buy adding vegetables, it turns to be tasty and healthy.

See also for Medhu Vadai

INGREDIENTS:

Urad dhal - 250g

Toor dhal - 2 tsp

Rice flour - 1 tsp

Carrot  - 2

Cabbage 

Onion - 1

Green chilly -2

Corinader leaves - a little

Curry leaves - a leaflet

Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp

Pepper powder/Crushed - 1/2 tsp (optional)

Oil - for deep frying

METHOD: 

1. Soak urad dhal for 45 minutes and grind to fine paste by sprinkling little water along with green chillies, as we prepare for vadai and transfer to a bowl.

2. Heat oil for deep frying.

2. Add finely chopped onion, carrot, cabbage, corinader leaves, curry leaves, rice flour along with salt, pepper and asafoetida. 

3. Mix well with a spoon, and place little scoops of mixed batter in the hot oil or make small balls using fingers.

4. Deep fry until golden brown and remove from the oil.

5. Crispy and tasty Vegetable bonda is ready and can be served with any chutney variety and coffee.

Note:

• Adding rice flour is a must since the veggies will let out water on mixing with the batter and will result in oily bondas.

 

KHOYA POLI / PALKOVA POLI

This is a traditional Maharastrian recipe done on special occassions and festivals. It is rich in taste and quite simple to prepare compared to other puran polis. Usually we prepare puran using coconut or dhal. This is made using sweetened khoya with the outer layer using wheat flour. The stuffing can be prepared in minutes with milk powder and tastes awesome and the poli turns to be much soft. This grand version of poli can be also be done using leftover khoya. Also see this blog for

• Coconut poli
• Paruppu poli

 

SHAHI PURAN POLI

INGREDIENTS:

Wheat flour - 1 cup

Rava/ Sooji - 3 tsp

Milk powder - 50g

Ghee - 1 tsp

Milk - 1/2 cup

Sugar - 6 tsp

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt

Oil 

METHOD:

1. In a tawa, add little ghee, rava and roast for a few minutes and keep aside. 

2. In a bowl add wheat flour, salt and little sugar. Prepare a soft dough adding required water.

3. In the same tawa, add ghee and milk and allow to boil. Add rava and mix well so that no lumps are formed.

4. Add milk powder and mix well till it combines well with the rava mixture.

5. Stir for a while, when it comes together, add sugar and cardamom powder, mix well for few minutes and switch of the flame. 

6. After it cools well, smear little oil/ghee in fingers and make balls of desired size. Also make little larger balls using the wheat dough.

7. Take a wheat ball, flatten a bit using a rolling pin, smear little oil, place khoya ball.

8. Pleat all the sides well and close the top portion of the stuffed dough properly.

 9. Sprinkle little wheat flour and flatten the stuffed dough gently using the rolling pin, so that the puran spreads evenly on all sides.

10. Heat a dosa pan, place the poli and cook until golden spots appear on both sides on medium flame. Sprinkle little oil on both sides.

11. Tasty, soft and delicious Khoya Poli is ready to be served with ghee.

Note:

• If the khoya turns to be hard, sprinkle some milk and knead for few minutes.
• On the other hand if the khoya is sticky, sprinkle some milk powder and knead well.