CASHEW BADAM BURFI

This is also an easy recipe as Kaju Katli & Badam Katli. Here, I have done with slight variation giving importance to the sugar syrup one string consistency, which ended in reducing the cooking time and the burfi came out very well. It took around just 20 minutes. Soaking,peeling the almond and drying it has to be done little earlier. Easy way of peeling almond is to soak in hot water for 10 minutes and rub in between fingers, so that the skin gets peeled off easily. It has to be dried on a clean towel  before grinding into powder.

INGREDIENTS:

Cashew nut - 1/2 cup

Almond/ Badam - 1/2 cup

Sugar - 1 cup

Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp

Ghee - 1 tsp

METHOD:

1. Soak Badam in hot water for few minutes and peel off the skin and pat dry it for an hour.

2. In a mixer, grind cashews to slightly coarse powder and transfer it to a plate.

3. Add badam and powder it the same way and transfer it to the same plate and add cardamom powder to it.

4. Grease a burfi tray with little ghee and keep aside.

5. In a thick bottomed tawa, add sugar and 1/2 cup of water and allow it to boil.

6. At first the sugar dissolves completely and starts boiling. 

7. Use a spoon/ladle and check for consistency by using the forefinger and thumb finger.

8. First, we will get the half string consistency and then one string consistency.

9. Immediately add the powdered cashew and badam and mix well so that no lumps are formed. The sugar syrup combines well with the powder in a minute.

10 When the mixture starts thickening, switch off the flame and keep on mixing for few minutes.

11. The mixture will thicken and start coming together. Add ghee and mix well.

12. Transfer to the burfi tray and level it using a spoon/ ladle.

13. When it little warm, draw lines of desired shape and size using a knife greased with little ghee.

14. After it cools down completely, the burfis can be easily removed.

15. Tasty and delicious CASHEW BADAM BURFI is ready.

Note:

• Do not run the mixer for a long time, the powder might turn sticky.
• Switch off the stove immediately when the mixture starts to thicken to avoid over cooking.
• It has to be mixed well till it comes together like a dough. 
• If over cooked, the burfis will turn hard.

THATTAI

This is one of the authentic South Indian snack done in almost all parts of Tamilnadu. The ingredients used slightly vary in some places. Some use urad dhal flour instead of broken dhal flour along with rice flour, which is the main ingredient. Some use both. Here, I have done adding broken gram/fried gram flour along with rice flour.

INGREDIENTS:

Rice flour - 1 cup
Broken gram flour - 3 tsp
Sesame seeds-  1 tsp
Red chilli powder-  3/4 tsp
Pepper powder-  1/4 tsp
Asafoetida/ Hing - 1/2 tsp
Salt
Ghee - 2 tsp
Oil - to deep fry

METHOD:

1. In a bowl, add all ingredients along with Ghee, mix well and knead to a dough adding water little.
2. The dough should be firm and not soft.
3. Divide into equal sized balls.

4. Heat oil in a tawa.
5. Take chappathi press, place a sheet of plastic cover and smear little oil.
6. Place a dough on it and smear little oil on the top of the dough and place another plastic sheet on it.
7. Press gently, adjust the dough and press again to thin shaped poori.
8. Take out the plastic sheet on top, use a fork to make holes here and there to avoid puffing like pooris.

9. Drop a small piece in the oil. If it raises to top at once, the oil is ready to deep fry.
10. Gently remove and place in the hot oil and lower the flame.
11. Cook on low flame until crisp and the bubbles ceases.
12. Remove from the oil when it turns golden brown and place on a dosa tawa/ tissue for removing excess oil.
13. Tasty & Crispy Thattai is ready.

Note:

• The oil must be reduced to low flame while frying, otherwise the center part may not be cooked.

WHEAT HALWA / GODHUMAI HALWA

The traditional way of making Godhumai/Wheat Halwa is done by soaking whole wheat, grinding it again and again to extract milk, which is very difficult. When I referred some cookery blogs, I came across the easy way of doing this halwa using wheat flour. I never thought preparing wheat halwa will be so easy, eventhough it took around 45 to 50 minutes, keeping on stirring all the way through. But this recipe needs our full attention without any disturbances.It was very hard for me to keep stirring along and click pictures. My hands started paining, but the end result made me so happy. It is somewhat a long procedure to prepare this recipe. This recipe is not much complicated but needs continuous stirring. The entire recipe should be done on low flame.

See also for Badam Halwa, Kasi Halwa, Carrot Halwa, Beetroot Halwa, Asoka Halwa

INGREDIENTS:

Whole wheat/Godhumai flour - 1 cup

Sugar - 2 cups

Ghee - 3/4 cups

Cardamom - 1/2 tsp

Cashew nut - 10

Sugar for caramelisation - 3 tsp

Saffron - 10 strands

Milk - 1 tsp

METHOD:

1. In a wide bowl, add wheat flour and knead to a dough by adding needed water as we do for chappathis.

2. Add 4 cups of water to the same bowl and soak the dough for 4 to 5 hours.

3. Heat little milk and soak the saffron strands.

4. In a big thick bottomed tawa, add little ghee and roast the cashews and keep aside.

5. Add 3 tsp of sugar and start mixing on low flame. At one stage the sugar dissolves and browning starts to appear. 

6. Switch of the stove, add little water. Don't mind if it crystallizes, when it cools down it will turn watery, which is brown in colour. Transfer it to a vessel/cup.

7. Mean while, mix the dough thoroughly with hands in the soaked water till it dissolves without any lumps. 

8. Using a strainer, strain the water and discard the left out residue.

9. Add the wheat flour milk to the same tawa, place it on the stove and start stirring.

10. Keep on stirring, till it reaches the porridge state and starts thickening. It will take approximately 7 to 8 minutes.

11. We should keep on stirring continuously, otherwise there is chance of lump formation.

12. Add saffron milk, caramel sugar syrup mix well for a minute.

13. Add sugar, and keep on stirring. At first it will turn watery and then starts to bubble.

14. At first small bubbles starts to appear. Add 2 tsps of ghee and mix well.

15. The ghee gets fully absorbed while stirring and looks more transparent.

16. Just add ghee then and there and mix continuously for 15 to 20 minutes.

17. Slowly it reaches a glossy texture after some more time  and comes together.

18. Add roasted cashews and cardamom powder and mix well.

19. Grease a bowl/plate with little ghee and transfer the Halwa.

20. Tasty and delicious Wheat Halwa is ready. 

Note:

• I used anodised kadai, which was very helpful.
• Better to use non stick kadai, since the end result can be reached easily.
• I decided to avoid food colour and added caramel sugar. If found difficult, a pinch of food colour can be added. But, it is advisable  to avoid artificial colours.
• Add ghee in regular intervals. 
• Always it is safe to do this recipe on low flame.
• The wheat flour milk should not be thick to fasten cooking process. 
• It should be thin to avoid raw smell of the flour

KARA PORI / MASALA PORI

Kara Pori/ Spiced puffed rice is one of the easiest snack, well suited for tea time. A popular snack  in many South Indian houses.It is best compared to chips or any such snacks. Well cleaned and packed Pori is easily available in shops. It is low in calories, and suits well during rainy season.

INGREDIENTS:
Puffed rice - 2 cups
Garlic - 6
Turmeric powder-  1/4 tsp
Sambhar/ Red chilly powder-  1/2 tsp
Roasted peanut - 1/4 cup
Fried gram dhal/ udaitha kadalai - 3 tsp
Asafoetida/ Hing - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves-  a leaflet
Salt
Ghee/ Oil -  1 tsp

METHOD:
1. Crush garlic roughly along with the outer covering.
2. Heat ghee/oil in a broad tawa, add the crushed garlic and saute till nice aroma comes out.
3. Add curry leaves, roasted peanuts, fried gram dhal and mix well for a minute.

4. Add turmeric powder, Sambhar powder, salt and hing, mix well and switch off the flame.
5. Add puffed rice and mix well, till it gets well coated with masalas.

6. Tasty Spicy Murmura/ Masala Pori is ready to be served along with tea or coffee.

Note:

• Do not forget to store in an airtight container.
• Using garlic is optional.
• After mixing the puffed rice with Masala, allow 5 to 10 minutes, so that the masala is well absorbed. 
• If tasted immediately after mixing, it might taste spicy & salty.
• Garlic should be roasted along with skin, since it gives unique aroma to the dish.

BADAM KATLI

Badam Katli is a quick and very easy recipe which can be done in minutes. Diwali festival is fast approaching in a fortnight from now. So, I have posted this recipe. This burfi is very soft and semi transparent compared to Kaju burfi and can be prepared the same way as we prepare Kaju Katli which has been already posted in this blog.

INGREDIENTS:
Badam - 1 cup
Sugar - 3/4 cup
Cardamom powder - a pinch
Saffron strands - a little
Ghee - 2 tsp

METHOD:
1. Soak Badam in hot water for an hour and remove the skin. Let it dry for sometime.
2. In a mixer, add the badam and saffron and make into a coarse powder. Do not over run the mixer since the badam might turn sticky due to the oil content in it.
3. Meanwhile, in a thick bottom tawa add sugar and 1/2 cup of water and allow to boil.

4. When the sugar dissolves completely and starts boiling add the badam powder and stir well. 

5. Mix continuously adjusting the flame from low to medium.
 6. In 10 to 12 minutes time, dough will start leaving the pan. Take a little and roll into a small ball after greasing fingers with ghee. 

7. If it rolls into a soft ball, switch of the flame. If it is sticky, stir for a minute and try again.
7. Add ghee and mix well.
8. Allow to cool for few minutes. 
9.Grease a burfi plate/butter paper/plate with little ghee.

10. Knead the dough with hands and transfer it to the plate.
11. Stretch using a flat bottomed cup and cut into desired shape.
12. If transferred to a butter paper, use rolling pin to flatten it.
13. Tasty and soft BADAM KATLI is ready. 

Also see for Badam Halwa in this blog

Note:

•  little milk powder can be sprinkled while kneading into dough, so that the burfi doesn't look transparent.
• Saffron is optional. Adding saffron gives a tinge of yellow colour to the burfi.

SABUDANA VERMICELLI KHEER/ JAVVARISI SEMIA PAYASAM

Sabudana Vermicelli Kheer is a popular dessert and favourite of many.  It can be done using Sugar or Jaggery. Now, being Navarathri time, I have done using Jaggery. This kheer can be done either using Sabudana or Vermicelli or a combination of both. 

INGREDIENTS:
Javvarisi/Sabudana - 1/4 cup
Semia/Vermicelli - 1/4 cup
Jaggery - 3/4 cup
Milk - 3 cups
Cashew nut - 10
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
Ghee - 1 tsp

METHOD:
1. Soak Javvarisi for an hour. 
2. In a bowl add 2 cups of water and allow to boil. 
3. Add soaked Javvarisi and cook for a few minutes, until it is half cooked. 
4. If over cooked it might turn into porridge.

5. After it is half cooked, add vermicelli and cook for a minute until it starts boiling, switch of the flame.
6. Close the bowl with a lid so that both sabudana and vermicelli gets fully cooked,
7. In a pan add milk, boil until it gets little thicker and let it cool.
8. In another pan, add jaggery and half cup of water and cook until the jaggery melts well and starts to boil.

9. Filter the jaggery syrup and add to the javvarisi semia mixture.

10. Add cooled milk, otherwise it might curdle.
11. Taste for sweetness, if needed add more powdered jaggery. If it is very sweet, boil needed milk, cool well and add to the Kheer.
12. Add cardamom powder, mix well.
13. Add ghee in a pan, roast cashews and add to the kheer.
14. Tasty and delecious Javvarisi Semia Kheer is ready.

Note:

• Instead of Jaggery, sugar can be added. 
• Before adding jaggery, the Javvarisi should be well cooked and turn into transparent pearls. Other wise it might not taste well.

BABY CORN MANCHURIAN DRY

This is a popular Indo Chinese dish which goes well with Fried rice varieties and also with any other rice varieties. It can be done both in dry & gravy form. The basic steps are similar as we do for Baby Corn 65 with some more addition to the preparation.

INGREDIENTS:
Baby corn - 12 to 15
Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
Chat masala - 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Maida/All purpose flour - 2 tsp
Rice flour/Corn flour - 2 tsp
Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Salt 
Oil - to deep fry

FOR MANCHURIAN
Cumin - 1 tsp
Chopped onion - 1/2 cup
Chopped Capsicum - 1/2 cup
Tomato sauce - 3 tsp
Soya sauce - 1 tsp
Crushed Ginger garlic - 2 tsp
Spring onion chopped- 1 cup  
Coriander leaves - a handful (optional)
Oil - 2 tsp
Rice/Corn flour - 1 tsp



METHOD:
1. In a bowl add chopped baby corns, red chilly powder, garam masala,pepper powder, chat masala, cumin powder, needed salt, lemon juice and mix well.
2. Add maida and rice flour and mix well. Sprinkle some water, so that the baby corn gets coated well.

3. Heat oil in a pan, add the baby corns little by little in batches and deep fry until it turns crispy and golden brown.
4. Baby corn 65/Baby corn fry is ready.
5. Heat oil in a tawa, add cumin, add chopped onions and saute for a while.
6. Add chopped capsicum, crushed ginger garlic and stir well. Do not over cook the capsicum, let it be somewhat crunchy.

7. Add all the sauces and mix well. 
8. Add chopped spring onions, mix for a minute and add the fried baby corns.
9. Add chopped coriander leaves, cook on low flame for a minute.
10. Tasty Baby Corn Manchurian dry is ready.

For Manchurian gravy
1. Add a tsp of rice/corn flour and mix with little water. 
2. After adding the fried baby corns add the flour water and cook for a while.
3. Add chopped coriander leaves and mix well.
4. Baby Corn Manchurian gravy is ready. 
5. It can be served with Naan, Chappathi, Parathas and rice varieties.

BABY CORN 65

This is a famous Indo Chinese recipe, considered one of the best starters. It tastes unique. It is similar to Gobi 65 and Paneer 65. Using this Baby corn 65/Baby corn fry we can also prepare Baby Corn Manchurian 

INGREDIENTS:
Baby corn - 12 to 15
Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
Chat masala - 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Maida/All purpose flour - 2 tsp
Rice flour/Corn flour - 2 tsp
Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Salt 
Oil - to deep fry
Chopped onions - for garnishing

METHOD:
1. In a bowl add chopped baby corns, red chilly powder, garam masala,pepper powder, chat masala, cumin powder, needed salt, lemon juice and mix well.
2. Add maida and rice flour and mix well. Sprinkle some water, so that the baby corn gets coated well.

3. Heat oil in a pan, add the baby corns little by little in batches and deep fry until it turns crispy and golden brown.
4. Remove from oil and garnish with chopped onions. 
5. Tasty and crispy Baby corn 65 is ready.

 

 

COCONUT POLI / THENGAI POLI

This is one of all time favourite dish of my family. Usually stuffing is prepared for poli using chenna dhal and jaggery. It might be time consuming to cook dhal first and grind along with jaggery to make the stuffing/puran. In this recipe, stuffing is very easy and simple to prepare. Just grate the coconut in a mixer/grater and cook for few minutes along with jaggery. 

• Paruppu Poli

• Khoya Poli / Palkova poli

INGREDIENTS:

 Maida/All purpose flour - 1 cup

Whole wheat flour - 1/4 cup

Coconut grated - 1 cup

Jaggery - 3/4 cup

Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Ghee - 1 tsp

Salt

Oil

METHOD: 

1. In a bowl, add maida and wheat flour along with little salt and make a soft sticky dough by adding water. Smear 2 to 3 tsp of oil and knead the dough and keep aside.

2. In a tawa, add grated coconut and jaggery and cook on low flame till the water content of the jaggery goes off and gets blended. Add cardamom powder and ghee, mix well.

3. After it cools down, make into lemon sized balls. Stuffing/ Puran is ready.

 

4. Grease a banana leaf/butter paper/plastic sheet with little oil.

5. Take lemon sized dough, spread the dough a little with fingers. Grease fingers with little oil before spreading the dough.

6. Place the stuffing/puran on the dough and close on all sides. Roll it gently so that the ball is even.

7. Using a rolling pin, gently roll into polis. Else, smear some oil on palm and spread the stuffed dough gently.

8. Heat a tawa, transfer the poli, cook well on both sides till brown spots appear. Sprinkle little oil.

9. Tasty COCONUT PURAN POLI is ready to be served with ghee as topping.

Note:

• Broken Coconut can be refrigerated in freezer compartment, so that grating it will be easy. Just the white part alone gets separated.  The brown part doesn't stick to the coconut pieces.