GULAB JAMUN - SN CHALLENGE

Today I am going to post this challenged recipe as I am the part of famous SNC team. South vs North Challenge doesn't require any introduction, which is created and owned by our sweet friend Divya Pramil. I am a part of Northern Team, triedout the recipes challenged by Southern Team arround the year. 

This month SNC completed 1 year, so this is the 'month of celebration' where Divya suggested to cook any of the 24 challenged recipes. All over India, people are in festive mood, our main festival 'Diwali' is knocking the door. This is the special time for all Indians for some special treats. Thus, I choosen the recipe "GULAB JAMUN", challenged by Pallavi Purani. This is a very famous traditional Indian sweet and really a very toothsome dessert as we all love it..."Yeh dil mange more....", thanks Pallavi for this awesome dish.

INGREDIENTS:

1 Cup Powdered Milk
1&1/2 tbsp Semolina (sooji/rava)
3 tbsp Wheat Flour / All Purpose Flour (maida)
1/3 tsp Baking Powder
4 tbsp Clarified Butter (ghee)
1/2 Cup Cream
Oil / Clarified Butter To Fry

FOR SYRUP:

1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Water
1/4 tsp Saffron (kesar/zaffran)
5-6 Cardamom Pods (lightly crushed)

METHOD:

Sift milk powder, wheat flour, semolina and baking powder in a bowl. Add clarified butter in it and mix thoroughly. Knead it nicely by adding cream to make a soft smooth dough.

Bring the dough together and with a palm greased with ghee make a ball and place in a bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel and let it sit for 30 minutes.

On the other side, to make sugar syrup, bring the sugar and water to boil. Add saffron and cardamoms in it. Let sugar dissolves completely and boil it for 8-10 minutes on medium flame.

Make small balls out of the dough. Mean while you can fry the rolled jamuns. Heat sufficient oil on full flame in a pan . Once it smokes, reduce the flame to medium. After the smoke disappears, add one dough ball first. If it turns black instantly, you must reduce the flame to low-medium. We are looking for an inviting brown color on the dough balls. Be sure to constantly rolling the balls in the oil so that they get an even color, don't dump the jamuns so many in oil.

Remove jamuns from oil by using a slotted spoon when gulab jamuns are evenly golden and browned and add them directly into the sugar syrup. Keep the jamuns in the sugar syrup for atleast 3-4 hours before serving, which will make the jamuns soft and sweet from inside.

Warm in the microoven, serve gulab jamun hot with topped with little cream or pistachios. But I personally love to have warm gulab jamun topped with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.

A FESTIVAL FULL OF SWEET CHILDHOOD MEMORIES,

SKY FULL OF FIREWORKS,

MOUTH FULL OF SWEETS,

HOUSE FULL OF DIYAS AND HEART FULL OF JOY

WISHING YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY DIWALI!!!!

Sending to Priya Suresh akka SN Challenge

Sending to Festival Treats, Diwali Bash 2013

DURGA PUJA ASHTAMI SPECIAL KHICHDI BHOG / BHOGER KHICHURI

Durga Puja offers a culinary feast. Very simple ingredients are used here, this is also one of the best kept secrets, bhoger khichuri has a distinct flavour.Khichudi is an essential partof the spread offered to Devi Durga. Apart from that luchi (puffed pooris) or pulao can be given as bhog too. Here is a delectable khichuri recipe which we, Bengalis offer to Ma Durga as a 'bhog'.

INGREDIENTS:

1 Cup Gobindo bhog/ kalo jeera/ basmati rice

1&1/4 Cups of Moong Dal (Split green gram lentils)

1/3 Cup Green Peas (I used frozen)

6 Florets of Cauliflower

2 Potatoes (peeled and cut into halves)

2-3 tbsps Clarified Butter (ghee)

1-2 Bay Leaves

1 Dried Red Chillies

1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds

Garam Masala Crushed (1" Cinnamon, 3 Green Cardamoms & 3-4 Cloves)

1-2 Green Chilles (cut in slits)

3/4 tsp Minced Ginger

1/2 tsp Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder

1/2 tsp Turmeric powder

1 tsp Sugar

Salt to taste

METHOD:

In a wok, dry roast moong dal. After few seconds, you will get a nice aroma of bhuni/roasting dal. Its colour will change to brown. Turn off heat. Pour some water over it. Drain water completely and keep the moong dal seperate. Wash the rice under running water and keep it aside.

Heat clarified butter in a pressure panor kadai. Add minced ginger in it. Saute for few seconds, add cumin seeds and let it change its colour a little. Now add dried red chilli and bay leaf, again saute for few more seconds. Mix crushed garam masala and green chillies in it, a nice aroma comes out. 

Now add potato and cauliflower in it. Saute for 3-4 minutes on medium heat.

Pour 1/2 Cup warm water and spread the dal in it. 

When dal started to boil, add rice and green peas in it. 

Add kashmiri red chilli powder, salt, sugar and turmeric powder in it. Fold nicely for 2-3 minutes or till everything incorporated very well.

Add 3&1/2 Cups of water in it. Let it come to boil. 

Close the lid of pressure cooker and pressure cook in low till you get one whistle. Switch off the heat now, let it rest in stream for few minutes. If dal is not cooked fully, add 1/2 cup of water and cook for another 7-8 minutes on low heat.

Khichuri bhog is ready. Serve infront of Ma Durga with five kinds of fried vegetables, Rice Kheer or Chaler payesh and Tomato Date chutney. Enjoy this simple but super scumptious meal.

NOTES: Do not use any onions and garlic, since Bengali customs consider these ingredients to be non vegetarian. 

It is not custom, but if you wish, may add tomato in it to enhance the flavour and taste.

PAASI PARUPPU PAYASAM / PAYATHAM PARUPPU PAYASAM / MOONG DAL KHEER

May lord Krishna

Show you the way in your life

As he has shown the way to
Arjuna in kurukshetra
May lord Krishna bless you on your way.

HAPPY JANMASHTAMI TO ALL....

I am very happy to take part of this interesting SNC event. A great going event started and organished by our sweet friend Divya Pramil from YOU TOO CAN COOK - INDIAN FOOD RECIPES. This is a monthly event where two teams, Southern and Northern team have to challenge each other with their authentic and regional dishes.

This month North team got a challenge to prepare Paasi Paruppu Payasam / Moong Dal Kheer from Divya Pramil and South team is challenged with Kesar Pista Kulfi by Shruti.

'Paruppu Payasam' is an easy payasam of specially Tamil Nadu, which is made with moong dal or chana dal. Here I added raw rice to it, that is purely optional. It is a jaggery based sweet. Getting the right consistency is difficult part, as it should not be too thick nor too runny. Milk adds richness and enhances the taste. Thanks Divya for this delicious kheer, we relished your recipe dear.

INGREDIENTS (FOR 6 SERVINGS):

100 gm / 1 Cup Split Green Gram Lentil (yellow moong dal)

25 gm / ½ Cup Raw Rice (pacharisi)

250 gms  Jaggery / Achu Vellam

10-15 Cashew Nuts (slitted)

5-6 Almonds (chopped)

1 tbsp Raisins

4 Pods Cardamom

2 tbsp Grated Coconut

1 Cup Milk

2 tbsp Clarified Butter / Ghee

METHOD:

Wash moong dal and raw rice in water and set aside.

Grind grated coconut and cardamom pods. Keep it aside.

In a pressure cooker add moong dal and raw rice with 300 ml water. Pressure cook for 10 minutes on low heat. Open the lid after the pressure drops.  Mash well the cooked dal and rice.

Pour milk in it.

Mix well and place the pan on heat again. Cook for several minutes on low heat. This consistency is very perfect, so extra water in not necessary here. (But if you think your dal is thick even after adding milk, add little water in it)

Pour jiggery in it and stir nicely. Check the sweetness, add more jaggery if necessary. 

Add coconut – cardamom powder here, keep stirring for another 2 minutes on medium heat.

In another pan / tadka pan, add clarified butter (ghee). When it starts to melt, add cashew nuts, almonds and raisins. Fry for 2 minutes on minimam heat, don't fry on high heat, nuts will burn quickly.

Add nuts as well as clarified butter in payasam. Fold nicely and remove from heat. (when it will cool down, the payasam will be thicken. If so, add little more milk or water and re-heat a little and stir well)

Garnish with few nuts and raisins on the top. Serve as a mouth watery dessert. 

Sending to Divya's "SNC Challenge"

AMRAKHAND (MANGO IN SHRIKHAND) & A GIFT FOR WINNER FROM MEENA BHATIA

Hellow friends,

Meena Bhatia of Homely Food celebrated her 2nd Blog Anniversary Event and Giveaway, a very successful event which ran in between 4th April, 2013 to 19th May, 2013. I couldn't believe my eyes and totally spellbound, when Meena decleared me as the Winner of this event (please CHECK HERE). I was really so glad and boundless happiness with me on that very moment. 

My heartfelt thanks to you, Meena dear. Hats off to your efforts and indeed a great job done by you. We all enjoyed and relished your each and every dishes. Now those are listed as frequent menus in my kitchen. Thanks a lot for those delicious recipes dear.

I am truelly honoured by you dearie. Loved your gift 'Tupperware Lunch Boxes Set' so much, it is very useful and looks so pretty. Thank you so much Meena for your support throughout the  process and being with me.

So friends, here celebrating this award (gift) with a traditional mouthwatering yummy dessert, 'Amrakhand'................ A shrinkhand is an Indian dessert made by mixing thick and creamy stained yogurt with sugar, cardamom powder and saffron. You can mixed seasonal tropical fruit Mango to make to Amrakhand (mango in shrikhand). Shrikhand is originated from Maharashtra, but very popular dessert in Rajasthan and Gujarat too. It involves no cooking. It is a transformation of simple yogurt to a luscious dessert. We enjoyed 'Aam Shrikhand' so much that I have made it several times in this season. Cardamom and saffron flavours really worked well. So here is the simple recipe, hope you all will enjoy well.

INGREDIENTS:
1 Cup Plain Yogurt / Thick Curd
1 Cup Powdered Sugar
1 Cup Mango Pulp (Preferably Alphonso Mango)
1/4 tsp Green Cardamom Powder
1 tbsp Cashewnuts (chopped)
1 tbsp Almonds (chopped)
1 tbsp Pistachios (sliced)
Few Strands of Saffron

METHOD:
Place a muslin cloth on a sieve. Pour yogurt in it and stain out water from it or you may hang it over the kitchen sink. So that all excess water should drain out.
Whisk powdered sugar with hanged yogurt, till both are well blended.
In a blender, put mango pulp, cardamom powder and saffron. Blend for 2-3 minutes to make a smooth puree.
Mix mango puree with yogurt now. Add chopped nuts in it. Fold nicely.
Keep it in refrigerator for 2-3 hours before serving. Serve chilled by garnishing chopped nuts on the top. You can preserve it in a air-tight container and keep in refrigerator for 2 weeks.

Sending to: Authentic Indian Sweets @ Nivedhanam

AWARD CELEBRATING WITH CARROT BEET POTATO THORAN

JALEELA from Cook Book Jaleela organised an event of Bachelor's Feast. Recieved Best Side Dish Recipe award from Jaleela. Thanks a lot Jaleela for giving me this wonderful award. You did an excellent judgement, indeed a great job.

So friends, let's celebrate with a very easy to make, but tasty colourful and healthy side dish, which has a unique flavor. 'Thoran' is a traditional dry vegetable recipe from 'Kerala Cuisine', made with grated or finely chopped vegetables by using ingredients mustard seeds, shallots, coconut, curry leaves and ofcourse made with coconut oil. It is served in the Onam Sadya along with other dishes.

INGREDIENTS:

1 Beet Root
2 Medium Carrot
1 Medium Potato
3-4 Shallots (finely chopped)
2/3 Cup Freshly Grated Coconut
1/2 tsp Grated Ginger
1 Cardamom
1/2" Cinnamon
1 Clove
3-4 Peppercorns
2 Green Chillies (finely chopped)
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
1 Whole Dry Red Chilli
10-12 Curry Leaves
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Coriander powder
3 tbsps Coconut Oil
2 tbsps Fresh Lemon Juice
Salt to taste

METHOD:

Wash and cut off the edges of beetroot and carrot. Peel beetroot, potato and carrot. Chop beet, potato and carrot finely into small cubes.

Dry roast cardamom, cinnamon, clove and peppercorn for 2 minutes. Pound coarsely and set aside.

Heat coconut oil in a wok. Add mustard seeds in it. When they pop-up, add cumin seeds, dry red chilli and curry leaves in it.Saute for few more seconds, now add shallot in it. Fry for 2-3 minutes, till it gets translucent. Add ginger and green chillies now. Saute for another a minute. Add turmeric powder, coriander powder and coarsely pounded spices in it. Stir for a minute. Now add beetroot, carrot, potato and salt in it. Fold well.

Cover and cook it for 5 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add grated coconut in it. Fold nicely.

 

Cover and cook it for another 2-3 minutes. At this time, add lemon juice and mix well. Remove from heat now. Tasty beet carrot potato thoran is ready to serve now.

Serve hot with steamed rice and sambar. May serve with rotis or parathas too.

TIPS: You may add grated beet and carrot, that will cook faster than chopped one.
          If you like more spicy, add 2 pods of minced garlic.
          Those who don't have fresh coconut, could substitute with dry or desiccated
          coconut.