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.

 

KALAKAND / MILK CAKE

This is one of the popular milk based soft dessert done using Paneer/ cottage cheese and condensed milk. . Authentic way of preparing Kalkand is by evaporating milk, curdling it and adding sugar and once it comes together, cutting into desired shape. It takes nearly an hour and time consuming. This is an instant version done using condensed milk and can be prepared in less than 20 minutes. No need to add sugar since it is already present in condensed milk. To get good results, Paneer should be soft and fresh.

 

INGREDIENTS: 

Paneer - 200g
Condensed milk - 400g
Milk powder-  3 tsp
Cardamom powder-  1/2  tsp
Pistachios-  10 ( chopped)
Ghee - 1 tsp for greasing

METHOD:
1. Dry roast pistachios and chop into pieces and keep aside.
2. Crumble paneer without any lumps. Grease a tray/plate with ghee and keep aside.
3. In a thick bottomed kadai/tawa, add paneer along with condensed milk and cook on low flame.

4. Condensed milk will turn little watery and starts sputtering. Keep stirring on low flame.

5. Add milk powder and mix well. it gives a good texture to the recipe.
6. The mixture will start to thicken. Add cardamom powder.

7. Mix well so that it doesn't get burnt.
8. It starts to leave the side of the pan, and will come together.

9. Transfer it to greased plate, level it and garnish with chopped pistachios.

10. Allow it to cool completely or refrigerate it after it cools down a bit, for an hour.
11. Cut into desired shape.
12. Tasty, soft and delicious Instant Kalakand is ready.

SIMPLE BRINJI RICE

This receipe can be prepared with limited ingredients and it comes under cook and serve category.  In this receipe, we wont use tomato and garam masala powder.

SIMPLE BRINJI RICE

INGREDIENTS:-
Basmati rice / Seeraga samba rice = 1 cup
Coconut milk = 1 cup (i used 1/4 coconut)
Ginger = 1/2 inch
Garlic = 6
Green chilly = 3 to 4 nos
Mixed vegetables = 1/2 cup (carrot, peas, cauliflower, beans, sweet corn)
Big onion = 1

Curd = 4 tbsp
Water = 3/4 to 1 cup
Salt = to taste

For seasoning:-
Cumin seeds -1/4 tsp
Fennel seeds - 1/4 tsp
Bay leaf - 3
Cardomom - 2
Cinnomon - 1/2 inch
Black stone flower /kalpasu - 1/2 inch
Oil - 2 tbsp
Ghee - 2bsp
Cashews & Raisins - 10 each

METHOD:-
Wash & soak the rice for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a pressure cooker,  heat a tablespoon of ghee & fry cashews & raisins. Set aside. We will mix this, in the final stage.
Make a coarse paste of Ginger-Garlic-Green chilly.
Heat the remaining oil & ghee and fry the ingredients given under seasoning in low flame to avoid burnt.
Now, add the coarse paste and saute for a minute. Add onions , little salt and saute till it turns transculent. Then add mixed vegetables. Mix well. Sprinkle salt as required to enhance cooking.
Add 3/4 cup ( in case of basmati rice) or 1 cup ( in case of seeraga samba rice ) & coconut milk. Allow it to boil. Check for taste.
Add the soaked basmati rice & curd. Mix gently. Cover the cooker with lid  & gasket only. 
Keep it in low/sim mode, for 15 minutes. Now put weight/whistle for 2 minutes.
No whistles are taken into account. Switch off the flame. Let it rest in burner for 10 minutes.
Remove the whistle. Gently mix the rice and add the fried cashews & raisins.

TOMATO BIRYANI using Coconut milk

This dish can be prepared quickly with minimal ingredients. It tastes awesome and has unique flavour due to the addition of coconut milk. Instead of coconut milk regular milk can also be used.

INGREDIENTS:
Jeeraga samba rice - 1 cup
Coconut milk - 1 cup
Tomato - 2
Onion - 2
Crushed ginger garlic - 1 tsp
Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Small onions - 5 (optional)
Bay leaf - 1
Cinnamon - 2
Cloves - 2
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 tbs
Ghee - 1 tbs
Curry leaves - a little
Coriander leaves - a little
Salt

METHOD:
1. Soak rice for 20 minutes and wash well and drain the water and keep aside.
2. Chop the onions and tomato.
3. In a pressure cooker, add oil and ghee and add cinnamon, cloves, fennel, bay leaf and saute till nice aroma comes out.
4. Add curry leaves and chopped onions and stir well for few minutes.

5. Add crushed ginger garlic, mix well and add chopped tomatoes.
6. Cook until the tomato turns juicy.

7. Add all the powders and mix well.
8. Add 1 cup coconut milk and 3/4 cup of water and allow to boil.

9. Add soaked rice, required salt and coriander leaves and close the lid and cook for 2 whistles on high flame and simmer for 3 minutes and switch off the stove.

10. After the pressure is reduced, open the lid and  give a gentle stir.
11. Tasty and appetizing Tomato Biryani is ready to be served.

Note:

• Basmathi rice can also be used.

 

MINI VADA using leftover Rice

MINI VADA

INGREDIENTS:-

Leftover Rice - 1 cup

Boiled and Mashed Potato - 100 gms

Besan flour/ Kadalai Maavu - 1/4 cup

Corn Flour - 1/4 cup

Grated Ginger - 1 tsp

Chopped coconut pieces - 1tsp

Finely chopped  Green chilly - 2 nos

Finely chopped Onion - 1 or 2

chopped curry leaves & coriander leaves - 1 tsp each

Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp

Oil for deep frying

Oil  - for making vada

METHOD:-

 

1. In a mixer jar, add the leftover rice and grind to a fine paste without adding water.
2. Apply a teaspoon of oil in a bowl. Restore this batter/dough  in the bowl.  
3. Now add all the ingredients except oil to the batter/dough, and mix well. Rice will be sticky, so apply some oil on hands too, for making vadas.
4. Heat a kadai with oil for deep frying. Meanwhile, make mini vadas and set aside. Once the oil is heated enough for deep frying, keep it in sim mode and drop the vadas one by one. Cook in medium flame. When the vadas rises up, flip it to the other side and deep fry it in high flame. Remove the vadas from the oil, till it turns to golden colour.
5. Crispy mini vadas are ready....

KAJU PISTA KATLI

This recipe is similar to Kaju Katli. We take equal portion of Kaju/Cashew and Unsalted Pistachios for this recipe. The green colour we get is natural and its flavour is unique. We can even make this katli more healthy by adding almonds too. See also for Cashew Badam Burfi and Badam Katli

INGREDIENTS:

Cashew nut - 1/2 cup

Pistachios -  - 1/2 cup

Sugar - 1/2 cup

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Ghee - 2 tsp

METHOD:

1. In a tawa, add cashews and pistachios and stir for few minutes till it becomes little warm. Allow to cool completely. No need to over roast it.

2. In a mixer, add the nuts and grind to a fine powder, add cardamom powder and keep aside. 

3. In a tawa, add sugar and 1/2 a cup of water and allow to boil.

4. Grease a burfi plate with little ghee.

5. Check for one string consistency, it might take 5 to 6 minutes approximately.

6. Lower the flame at once, add the powdered nuts and mix thoroughly.

7. At first it will turn watery and then starts to leave the sides of the pan. Switch off the flame.

8. Add ghee, give a mix and transfer the contents to the greased plate.

9. When the mixture is warm, cut into pieces of desired shape.

10. Tasty and tempting KAJU PISTA KATLI is ready.

Note:

• Do not over cook after it leaves the sides of the pan, it might harden faster and we will not be able to cut into pieces.

LEMON PICKLE

An authentic Indian recipe, Lemon pickle can be easily prepared at home with minimal ingredients. I chose the traditional way of preparing pickle without any preservatives which I learnt from my Mother, rather than the instant way. A lunch doesn't become wholesome without a pickle. It goes well with Naan, Chappathi, roti and curd rice also. The process takes a few days but doesn't consume time

INGREDIENTS:

Lemon - 8

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Red chilly powder - 2 tsp

Fenugreek - 1/4 tsp

Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp

Sesame /Gingelly oil - 5 tsp

Salt

METHOD:

1. Wash lemon and wipe using a kitchen towel and set aside for few minutes. It should be dry without any moisture.

2. Cut each lemon into 8 small pieces, remove seeds and place in a container.

3. Add 1 cup of salt for 6 cups of lemon pieces. The ratio of lemon pieces and salt is 6:1.

4. Mix salt well using a dry spoon and close the mouth of the container using a clean cloth and tighten the sides using a rubber band.

5. Next day remove the cloth, the lemon would have let out some juice, mix well again and close with the cloth.

6. Continue this process until the juice gets absorbed fully and the lemon turns soft and shiny.

7. It may take 3 to 4 days.

8. Heat a tawa, heat oil, add mustard seeds and allow to crackle.

9. Add fenugreek, red chilly powder, turmeric powder and asafoetida and switch off the flame and allow to cool.

10. After it completely cools down, add to the lemon pieces and mix well and leave for an hour.

11. Transfer to a glass/ porcelain container, cover the mouth using a clean cloth, tighten with a rubber band.

12. It can be placed under sun for 2 or 3 days and  stored in a refrigerator.

12. Tasty Lemon pickle is ready. 

Note:

• Instead of placing under sun, soaked lemon pieces can be added to the seasoning and cooked for a while, till the lemon absorbs the seasoning.
• Spice and salt can be adjusted to individual taste. 
• If needed more spice, heat little oil add the spice powder and allow to cool before adding to the pickle. 

  

 

MOONG DAL BONDA

MOONG DAL BONDA

Using Moong dal Idly batter, we can prepare these bondas, without Maida/ All purpose flour, Kadalai Maavu/ Besan Flour.
The batter which was grinded  3 to 4 days back or tangy batter or adi maavu ( in tamil), can be used for making Bondas.

INGREDIENTS:-
The following ingredients can be adjusted as required depending upon the amount of batter.
Onion finely chopped - 1
Green chilly finely chopped - 1 tsp
salt to taste
Curry leaves finely chopped - 1 leaf let
Coriander leaves finely chopped - 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp

Additional Ingredient:
Corn Flour  - 5 tbsp ( or as required)
Rice Flour -  1 tbsp ( or as required)
Water for preparing the batter ( if required)

Oil for Deep frying

METHOD:-
In case if Moong dal idly batter is used, add all the ingredients plus the additional ingredients. Prepare the batter in the consistency between  Medhu vada consistency and Bajji Consistency. That is if we drop the batter in the using spoon, the batter should fall into the oil.

In case if  Moong dal Kuzhi Paniyaram Batter is used, add only the additonal ingredients and prepare the batter for bondas.

Crispy Moong dal Bondas are ready to be served.

MOONG DAL KUZHI PANIYARAM

MOONG DAL KUZHI PANIYARAM

This is my innovative recipe using Moong dal Idly batter.  We can convert this batter in various forms by adding some ingredients. Using this batter, for first 2 days, we can prepare idlies. The following day we can prepare Kuzhi Paniyaram. Then in the last day, we can prepare Bondas as well.
Now let us see how to prepare, Kuzhi paniyaram.

INGREDIENTS:-
The following ingredients can be adjusted as required depending upon the amount of batter.
Onion finely chopped - 1
Green chilly finely chopped - 1 tsp
salt to taste
Curry leaves finely chopped - 1 leaf let
Coriander leaves finely chopped - 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
Gingelly Oil for making paniyarams


METHOD:-

1. Mix all the ingredients given under ingredients to the Moong dal Idly batter.
2. Heat a Kuzhi Paniyaram Kadai, with a drop of gingelly oil in each Kuzhi. Add a spoonful of batter to the Kuzhi. Just fill half of the level. Cover it with lid and cook. Reverse the paniyarams using spoon and allow the other side to cook.
3. Now tasty Moong dal Kuzhi Paniyarams are ready to be served.
4. Tastes better with coconut chutney, Onion-Tomato Chutney.

MOONG DAL IDLY

MOONG DAL IDLY

This recipe is similar to Horse Gram Idly/Kollu idly, wherein instead of Horse gram, here we are adding Moong Dal.

INGREDIENTS:
Idly Rice - 3 parts
Whole Moong dal / Pachai payaru - 1 part
Urid dal - 1 part heaped
Salt to taste

METHOD:-

1. In Kollu idly, we grinded the batter in a mixer grinder. But here in  Moong dal idly, we grind the batter in a wet grinder.
2. Wash and soak idly rice and Moong dal for 4 hours. Wash and soak Urid dal for 45 minutes, that is, 45 minutes before grinding the batter.
3. In a wet grinder, first, grind the urid dal for 20 minutes ( like we grind for  Regular Idly). Restore the batter in a container. Now grind the Idli rice & Moong dal soaked together, coarsely, like fine Rava/sooji consistency. Transfer this batter to Urid dal. 
4. Add required salt and mix well using hands. This helps in the fermentation of the batter. After fermentation mix well-using spatula/karandi and refrigerate  it.  
5. Now the batter is ready for steaming Idlies.