Sweet Puttu

As two of my sis are after puttu making, posting the recipe here. Last time when I went to india I had learnt from Mom. She makes awesome puttu...No one to beat her...Nice golden colour puttu..a feast to eyes and cant stop eating once you have a spoon of it....During Dasara week on Friday she makes puttu for the Goddesses(Lakshmi,Saraswathi and Durga). The smell of ghee,jaggery cardamom in the air pulls you into the kitchen. These get distributed to all who comes to visit kolu/Dolls and haldi kumkum  at home during dasara. These snaps taken while mom making the same.


Lets see how to make it.

Boiled Rice:- 2cups
Jaggery :- 2 Cups
Cashews- 8 pieces
Ghee - 5 tsp
Cardamom - 2(powdered)
Salt- To taste
Turmeric- 1/3 tsp
Coconut -1 cup(scraped)

Method:-
1. Fry the boiled rice in a dry pan, so that it changes colour. Don't burn it.
2.Let it cool and make it into nice powder in a mixie.
3. Add Salt and a pinch of turmeric to the powdered rice flour.(Thin rava consistency)
4. Sprinkle warm water to it and if you try to hold it in hand it should not crumble.

5. put the above mixture in a cloth and steam it in cooker for 15 min.
6. cool it and remove all the lumps.

7. Keep a pan on the stove add jaggery and little water so that the jaggery melts.
8. Strain it in strainer to remove impurities.
9. Keep the jaggery mixture on stove add cardamom powder, keep stirring until it thickens.

10. Take water in a small cup and drop a little jaggery in it. you will be able to make a ball of it.

11. That is the correct consistency (gatti paghu).Add the steamed rice flour to it, and scraped coconut. mix well.
12. Heat Ghee in a pan add cashews fry till golden brown.

13. Add it to the above(puttu mixture).
14. Yummy puttu ready to eat.

 

Badhusha

This time i was in india on vaccation during navrathri and diwali and had a nice time. so posting the below Badusha receipe done by me for diwali under my mom guidance. It turned out nice and yummy. Lets see how to make it.

Ingredients:-
Maida - 1/2 kg
Ghee - 1 cup
Cooking Soda - a little
Sugar - 1/2 Kg
Oil for frying
Water
Saffron

Method:-
1.Rub the Soda and ghee for 15 to 20 min.
2.Add the maida slowly to it and rub throughly.
3.Use little bit water to make a soft Dough.
4.Cover the Dough with a wet cloth for half an hour.

5.Make small balls and flatten each into round shape. I have twisted the edges.

6.Heat oil and deep fry all the badusha.

7.Prepare a sugar syrup of one thread consistency. Add saffron to it.
8.Put the Badushas in the syrup and remove them from the syrup.
9.Arrange them on a plate and let it cool. Decorate them with nuts.
10.Mouth watering Badushas are ready to eat....


 

Kasi Halwa/White Pumpkin halwa

Kasi halwa/White pumpkin halwa is a popular south Indian sweet/halwa served in weddings mostly.
wondering why the same not done regularly at home.when asked mom she told me that in weddings the cook throws away the water from the scrapped white pumpkin and makes halwa,but the original version i mean the way it is done at home is to retain the water and make the halwa and it used to take long  time for the water to get absorbed... but it tastes very nice this way....hmmm.......tedious and time consuming...no wondering not a regular dish done at home......yesterday i went to market and ended up buying half a pumpkin.....and the result is the golden and lovely halwa before your eyes....Very very tasty believe me.......and easy to make too...lets see how to make it.

Ingredients:-
Pushinikka/White pumpkin - 1/2 or 1 big cup scraped

Ghee - 4 tsp
Cashews - 1 tsp
Raisins - 1 tsp
Low fat milk - 1/2 cup
Condensed Milk - 4 tsp
Saffron -- few strands(Soak it in 2 tsp of warm milk for 10 min)
Sugar - 1/2 a cup(a little bit less)
Cardamon - 2
Method:-
1.peel the outer skin of pumpkin and scrape it in a scrapper and keep it aside.

2.In a pan heat 1 1/2 tsp of ghee and fry the cashews and raisins and take it in a bowl and keep it aside.

3. In the same pan add the scrapped white pumpkin and fry a little bit till all the water is evaporated.

4. To this add milk, and let it cook nicely.

5. once cooked add sugar,cardamon powder, saffron to this and keep stirring until it becomes halwa consistency.

add the remaining 2 1/2 tsp ghee while stirring little by little. add half of the fried cashew and raisins.

6. cook until ghee separates.

7. Garnish with the remaining cashews and raisin.Nice tasty and yummy Kasi halwa/Pumpkin halwa is ready to eat...

Note:- You can throw way the water from the scraped pumpkin its up to you. As i didn't have so much water from the scraped pieces i have done as it is with the water. You can use food colour(orange) a little bit but as i wanted a natural colour i used saffron mixed with little milk hence the lovely golden yellow colour.... As i used condensed milk i have reduced the sugar other wise the consistency is for 2 cups pumpkin one cup sugar can be added, but take care once cooked the quantity reduces..so add sugar accordingly. You can use full fat milk and avoid condensed milk too...

Puran poli/Poli

This is my 50th post. Thought should post a sweet dish. Made puran poli or poli today . I learnt this recipe from my mom. Poli is made during pongal festival on Bhogi festival day.Lets see how to make it....
Ingredients:-
Chenna Dal - 1 cup
Jaggery - 1 cup
Maida flour - 1 cup
oil - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Cardamon powder - 1/4 tsp

Method:-
1. In a bowl add maida, turmeric powder,oil and mix with enough water and make it into soft Dough and keep it aside for 2 hours.
2. Boil chenna Dal in pressure cooker, drain water and keep aside.
3. In a pan add Jaggery with little water, add cardamon powder and let it boil.
4. Add chenna Dal to this and mix well until it becomes thick. Switch off the stove and let it cool.
5. Grind it in mixer with out water. puran is ready. take it in a bowl.
6. Make equal size balls of maida dough and  puran.
7. Roll maida balls into round shape, place puran in the middle, fold it from all sides.
8. Roll it into round shape.
9. Heat a pan, place the poli on the pan , add a tsp of ghee and fry on both sides till golden.
10.Fry all the polis this way. Hot and tasty polis ready to eat.

Plain Vanilla Cake with curd.......

For long time wanted to bake a cake without eggs. I found out this egg less recipe in the net and tried it. This is the first time iam trying to bake a cake from scratch. Believe me it didn't disappoint me and the cake turned out well. Took it to office and shared with my office friends. every one liked the cake and iam happy. Lets see how i made it.

Ingredients:-

All purpose flour - 1 1/2 cups

Curd/yogurt - 1 cup

Sugar - 3/4 cup
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
Baking powder - 1 1/4 tsp
Vegetable oil - 1/2 cup
Vanilla essence - 1tsp

Method:-
1.Preheat oven to 200 C for 10 Minutes.
2. Grease  and flour the glass bowl baking pan.
3. Cream the sugar and yogurt until the sugar is completely dissolved.
4. Add baking powder and baking soda and Mix well
5. You will find  it becomes frothy and  bubbles appear.
6.Add vegetable oil and vanilla essence and Mix well.
7. Slowly add little by little 1 tsp purpose flour at a time and mix all the flour well with the wet   ingredients.
8.Bake in preheated oven at 200 degree C for 10 Minutes.
9.Reduce temperature to 175 C and bake for 25 Minutes.
10.Take a toothpick and  insert into the cake if it comes out clean, cake is done.

11.Cool the cake for half an hour and then overturn onto a plate.

12.Tasty cake is ready to eat.

Custard Fruit Salad

                                                                Custard with Fruits

I always feel like having some thing sweet after lunch or dinner. Today i made Custard Fruit salad.

Its easy and simple to make and gets done faster. its really bliss to have a cool custard with fruits on a hot summer day. Lets see how to prepare the same...

  Ingredients :-

  Milk - 1/2 litre( Low fat milk)

  Sugar - 6 to 8 tsp

  Custard Powder - 4 tsp

  Saffron -  a little bit

  Condensed milk - 4 tsp(optional)

   Fruits - apple, Orange, banana(1 each)

   Method:-

  

    1.Take Custard powder in a bowl, add warm milk and make it to liquid consistency and

        keep it aside.

    2. Boil milk in a micro oven vessel for 3 Min's.

    3. Once milk is hot, add sugar and keep it in micro oven for another 2 min.

    4. Add Saffron strands to milk and keep it in micro oven for 2 min

    5. Add Custard powder mix to milk,condensed milk and keep it in micro oven for another 5 min. 

    6. Keep stirring the milk in between to avoid lumps and until the milk thickens.

    7. Let the mixture cool at room temperature, add the cut fruits mix well.

    8. Keep the custard fruit salad mix in fridge for 2 to 3 hours.

     9. Sweet and cool custard fruit salad is ready to eat.

     Note:- You can boil milk in a stove instead of micro oven.

                 As i have used low fat milk, i have added a little bit condensed milk, you can skip it.

                 You can use vanilla essence instead of saffron.

                  If you don't want to add fruits you can have plain custard.

                 If you like dry fruits and nuts like raisin and cashews you can add.

                 Fruits like sweet melon, pomegranate,grapes, pineapple, chikoo, kiwi etc can be used.

                 U can have the custard hot also instead of keeping it in fridge.