Cranberry Thokku

Cranberry Thokku

Ingredients:

Cranberry-2 cups

Sesame Oil - 5/6 tsp

Jaggery- 4/5 tsp

Salt as per taste.

Dry roast and grind the below ingredients into almost fine powder.

Methi-1 tsp

Mustard seeds- 1 tsp

Cumin seeds- 2 tbsp

Black pepper- 1 tbsp(as per taste)

Dry red chilies-4/5 number.

Dhania/ corriander seeds- 4/5 tbsp

Dry roast each separately.

Method:

In a heavy bottom pan heat oil.

To the hot oil, add whole cranberries and cook for 8-10 minutes or until they are soft and mushy.

To this add turmeric and dry roasted ground powder and continue to cook. Keep stirring it often, so the bottom doesn’t burn.

If the mixture thickens, add little water to allow it to cook further and let all the ingredients combine well which may take 6-8 more minutes. 

Finally add jaggery, salt and asafoetida and let it simmer for few more minutes, oil starts to separate from sides, thokku is ready.  

Kollu Idli/ Horse gram Idli

 A healthy variant of Idli, and easy to make!

Ingredients :

Idli Rice: 1.5 cup

Horse Gram: 1 cup

Urad Dhal: 1 cup.

Method:

Soak all the three ingredients separately for up to 3-4 hours, and horse gram needs a longer soaking time for up to 8 hours.

Once soaked, grind the urad dhal into a smooth buttery batter with little water, followed by Idli rice that can be ground slightly coarse, and then finally horse gram into a smooth batter.

Mix all the three together and add salt per taste.

Allow it to ferment for 6-8 hours. The batter will have a pungent smell from horse gram and that is normal.

Steam it in an Idli steamer for 10-12 minutes in medium flame and enjoy with any spicy chutney or Sambar.

Mango Ice Cream

Summer always calls for Ice creams.. and  mangoes are readily available in summer, but this recipe does not need fresh mangoes, we can always make mango ice cream in any season! I have been making this ice cream for many years and it always turns out yummy!!

Ingredients:
Heavy Whipping cream- 2.5 cups
Condensed milk- 1 cup ( adjust according to taste)
Mango pulp  - 1 cup ( ready made store bought canned pulp)

Method:
In a glass bowl take heavy whipping cream, and beat it using an electric beater till see stiff peaks.
To this heavy cream,  add ready made mango pulp and condensed milk and mix them gently.
We can whip this mixture after adding the condensed milk and pulp for 1-2 minutes until it is mixed well! You get a light yellow smooth cream...
Transfer it into a container with a lid and freeze for 6-7 hours or overnight! Delicious mango ice cream is ready to be enjoyed 😋

Tavala Adai

This dish instantly transports me to my childhood days!! Blessed were those days when kids used to spend quality time with grandparents. My grandma, lovingly called Pati used to make this dish that would be so filling and yummy, not to miss that they were rich in protein with all the pulses used!

Ingredients:
Idli Rice- 2 cups
Toor Dhal- 3/4 cup
Chana Dhal- 1/2 cup
Urdh Dhal- 1/2 cup
Pepper corn- 1 table spoon
Cumin- 1 table spoon
Dry red chilies- 2 numbers
Asafotida- 1/2 teaspoon
Salt.

For tempering

Oil- 2 tbsp.
Chana Dhal- 1tsp
Urdh Dhal- 1 tsp
Mustard seeds-1 tsp

Method:
Measure the ingredients and dry grind them to a coarse powder using a mixer( use the whipper mode)
To the coarse ground mixture, add warm water so that it forms a thick batter,  and let it sit for 3 hours.
In the mean time add the tempering to the mixture along with salt and asafotida.


Tempering
Heat up the oil in a pan and add Chana, Urdh Dhal and mustard seeds, wait for the Dhals  to change color to golden brown then add the mustard seeds, it will start to splatter. Remove them form the heat and add them to the batter.

After three hours, look for the consistency of the batter it should be think, if too thick and dry add some more water and adjust the consistency.
Heat up a wok/ vanali with a thick base, once hot add oil and pour the batter into small round pancakes.
Let it cook in medium flame for 3-4 minutes with a closed lid. Turn the Adai and cook the other side by adding some oil, this may take 2 more minutes, the Adai turns out crispy and yummm!! Enjoy the Adai with coconut chutney or podi.

Bangalore style Masala Puri

Summer visit to Bangalore is incomplete without  a couple of trips to the chat vendors!! Ever since we are back from vacation, the taste of Masala Puri is lingering in my mouth!!😋
I have made Masala Puri few times, decided to write my blog this time around!
Here we go!

Ingredients:
Dry green peas- 1 cup
Toor dhal- 1/2 cup.

To grind:
Coriander seeds: 2 tbsp
Cumin: 1 tsp
Pepper corn: 4-5.
Kus kus: 1/2 tsp.
Fresh grated coconut:  1/4 cup
Red chili powder: 1/2 tsp.( according to taste)
Nutmeg.
Marathi moggu: 1-2.
Cinnamon stick: 2-3 small pieces.
Clove : 3-4.
Green chili- 1 small.
Optional fresh coriander leaves.
Salt.

For topping:
Chopped tomatoes, diced onions, chopped  coriander leaves, grated carrots and
Sev.

Method:
Soak dry green peas overnight.
Cook green peas and toor dhal with enough water in the pressure cooker for 3-4 whistles.
In a pan dry roast all the dry ingredients except the coconut and coriander  for 3-4 minutes.
Add the grated coconut and chili powder to the roasted mix and grind to a fine paste.
In a heavy bottom pan take the cooked peas and dhal, allow them to come to a boil. To this add the ground Masala paste and simmer it for 8-10 minutes, add salt.
Adjust the consistency by adding water, do not make it too thin or think.
The Masala is ready. In a plate take few puries and crush them, to this add the hot Masala and top them with all the toppings according to taste.
Enjoy!!!!

Eggless chocolate brownies!

Something sweet and something soft- nothing better than these brownies! They are soft and decadent, rich with the goodness of chocolate! I have been making these brownies for quiet sometime, they always turn out great.

Here goes the recipe.
Ingredients:
3/4 cup All purpose flour
1/3 cup Cocoa Powder
1 cup Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Salt
2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 cup melted and cooled Butter
1/2 cup plain Yogurt.
2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
1/2 cup Chocolate chips.

Method:
Preheat the oven at 350 degree.
Grease a square baking pan with butter or line them with parchment paper to pour the batter.
To prepare the batter, start by sifting all the dry ingredients together, so there are no lumps.
In a mixing bowl, add the melted butter, yogurt, vanilla extract and mix well. To this mixture add the dry mix, and fold them to mix all the ingredients well. I added small quantity of water to thin the batter, you can skip water if it is not too thick.
Finally add the chocolate chips coated with some dry flour to the batter and mix them.
Pour the batter into the baking pan and bake them at 350 degree for 35-40 minutes, do check for done at about 35 minutes by inserting a tooth pick. If the tooth pick comes out clean then the brownies are done.
Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool. Cut them into squares using a serrated knife. Sprinkle them with powdered sugar . They are ready to eat!


Note: Original  recipe from Spice up the Curry.

Maddur Vada

A small town enroute to Mysore is Maddur. When we travel by buses to Mysore, they usually stop at Maddur; Once the bus stops, the vendors crowd the buses selling these savory treats to passengers through the windows, this is my fond memory of the Maddur Vada!!!
There are plenty of local restaurants that carry these authentic tasty snacks. I have tried to replicate this dish. Do try and relish them.

Ingredients:
Fine Sooji/Chiroti Rava : 1 cup.
Rice Flour : 1/2 cup.
Maida/All purpose flour : 1/2 cup.
Red onion : 1large.
Green Chilies : 6-7 finely chopped.
Curry Leaves : Finely chopped.
Oil to fry.
Salt.

Method:
Start by heating oil for deep frying. Simultaneously, in a large mixing bowl, add diced onions, chilies, and curry leaves. To the same bowl add rava, rice flour and maida. Mix the ingredients with required quantity of salt.
To this mixture, add hot oil from the frying pan. This makes the vadas crispy. Oil should be hot enough so it turns frothy when added to the mixture. Slowly mix the ingredients with required quantity of water to make a stiff dough. Take lemon size balls and press them into flat rounds, (do not make them too thin) with a hole in the center for even frying.
Fry them till they turn golden brown in a medium flame.
Drain the excess oil on paper towels and serve them hot or at room temperature, as is or with chutney.
Enjoy!

Honey Cake -Eggless!

Its been a while since I have posted a recipe on my blog! Glad to be back and hope to be posting many more recipes...
Special occasions deserve unusual dishes! It was our anniversary and wanted to make it memorable by baking an eggless cake which I had never tried before. I had just come across a post by a fellow blogger about "honey cake"! It took me back to my childhood days, I remember tasting honey cakes in Bangalore bakeries. I just could not resist trying to recreate this cake. Made slight changes to make it eggless and tweaked with my own measures, it turned out great!! Hope you all try and enjoy it.

Ingredients: for the batter:
Butter : 1/2 cup and 2 tbsp.
Sugar  : 1/2 cup.
Baking powder :1 tsp.
All purpose flour : 1 cup.
Flax powder : 2 tbsp.
Milk : 1/2 cup.
Vanilla extract : few drops.

For the honey syrup:
Sugar : 2 tsp .
Honey : 2-3 tbsp .
Water : 1-2 tsp.

 For topping:
Mixed fruit jam.
Desiccated coconut / dry grated coconut.

Method:
Start by preheating the oven at 350 degree Fahrenheit.
Keep the cake pan greased and ready.

For dry ingredients - Sift the baking powder with the flour, to make sure they are evenly distributed and have no lumps.
Soak the ground flax seeds with little water, leaving it for few minutes.  It forms a gooey mixture, resembling an egg mixture.
Next, beat the butter with sugar, till they are fluffy. Then add the flax mixture followed by vanilla extract.
Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients and mix well, adding required quantity of milk.
The cake batter should be think, which has pouring consistency.
Pour the batter into a greased cake pan, and bake for 35- 40 minutes. Check for done, by inserting a tooth pick.
 Next, make the honey syrup by boiling water, sugar, and honey in a sauce pan till the mixture forms a syrup.
Once the cake is done, prick the cake top with tooth pick, so the honey syrup is absorbed well by the cake.
Pour the honey syrup on top of the cake as required making sure it is distributed evenly.
Let it cool down completely.
For the jam topping; warm the jam and sugar with little water/ infact use the same sauce pan to melt the jam to form a smooth spread.
Finally spread the warm jam mixture on the cake and sprinkle desiccated coconut for decoration.
Let the cake sit for  couple of hours before tasting. It gets better as it sits.
Enjoy!!!!

Note: quantity of ingredients for sweetness can vary as required. 

Red Chutney.

We have many options for side dishes to go with Idly/ Dosa, especially the chutneys.
Red chutney is very tasty and goes well with Idly. I use it to spread inside the masala dosa too.

This is my version of the chutney, do try.

Ingredients:

Red onion: 1 medium size.
Tomatoes:  2 medium size.
Dry red chili: 6-8 numbers.(use as per taste)
Kashmiri Red chili: 4-5 numbers.
Chana Dhal: 1 tablespoon.
Urd dhal: 1 teaspoon.
Oil: 2-3 tablespoons.
Turmeric powder: 1 teaspoon.
Tamarind pulp-1/4 teaspoon.
Mustards seeds: 1 teaspoon.
Curry leaves: Few.
Salt.

Method:
Start by Chopping onion into thin slices and tomatoes into small cubes.
In a heavy pan heat oil, and add chana dhal and urd dhal.
Fry them till they turn slightly golden. Then add onion slices and continue frying till they are translucent.
Add tomatoes and fry till they turn mushy. To this mixture add turmeric and tamarind pulp.
Fry for 1-2 minutes.
Let the mixture cool. Grind the mixture using little water and salt as per taste.
Finally give the tempering of mustard seeds and curry leaves in oil.
 Red chutney is ready to serve

Note:
I have not used garlic , you can use garlic too.
Adjust the chili as per taste.
Instead of red onion you can use shallots too.

Mangalore Cucumber Pickle!

Pickles are important condiments of Indian meals. There are a variety of pickles made throughout India and the world.

Making pickles seem to be a difficult task until I learned this recipe from a friend. I tried it, a simple method, with very few ingredients.

 Best of all, we can control the quality of ingredients in it; unlike the store bought pickles which may have preservatives in them. Try it and I am sure you will love it too.

Ingredients:

Mangalore Cucumber-3 small size ones.

Red chili powder-3 table spoon.

Ground black mustard seeds- 2-3 tablespoon.

Salt-As per taste (I used 2-3 table spoon). 

Groundnut/peanut oil- as required.

Method:

Start the process by washing the cucumbers and drying them completely.

Cut the tips of the cucumber, de-seed them and chop them into cubes, leave the skins on.

Add salt, then the chili powder.

Grind the mustard seeds into powder. Add the ground mustard seed powder, followed by oil.

Oil should cover the whole mixture and see them on the sides.

Leave them to marinate for a day or two, but you can start using them after a couple of hours, it gets better as it sits.

Eat with plain rice or with curd rice, it is delicious!

Note:

The quantity of ingredients vary according to taste.

Since it has no preservatives make it in small quantities and use it.

Eggless Pancakes and Waffles!!

It's pancake for one and waffles for the other!!!! Too much work..., or did you think so???
This recipe has a double duty and can be made as pancakes or waffles.

Ingredients:
All purpose flour : 1 cup.
Sugar: 1 tbsp (as per taste)
Cinnamon powder: 1/4 tsp.
Vanilla extract.
Melted Butter: 2 tbsp.
Baking soda: 1/2 tsp.
Orange juice- 1/2 orange.
Whole milk: 1/2 cup / as needed to make up to thick batter consistency.
Apple cider vinegar: 1tbsp.
Salt: a small pinch.

Method:
In a mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients well.
To this mixture, add melted butter, orange juice, cider vinegar. At last, add milk to adjust the consistency of the batter.( about the consistency of idli batter)
Using  a wisk mix the ingredients into a smooth batter, if there are few lumps do not worry!

To make pancakes:
Heat a non stick pan, spread some butter and pour a ladle of batter into round pancakes, allow them to turn golden brown, flip and cook the other side, pancakes are ready.
Serve them with maple syrup and enjoy.


To make waffles:
Take the same batter and spread it on a waffle maker, in no time you will have golden waffles, which can also be relished with Maple syrup.


NOTE:
Add blue berries/ strawberries to the same batter to make blue berry pancakes/ straw berries
 pancakes.

Malai paneer curry.

One awesome side dish to suffice your craving of Paneer!!! It is a rich, delicious gravy sauce, apt to be used as a side dish with roti/chapati.
It was a busy weeknight and was trying to prepare a side dish, which would be easy and at the same time rich and delicious, giving the feel of restaurant style dinner, at home on a weeknight! Hope you too can use this method to get a quick weeknight dinner!!

Ingredients:
Paneer- 1 cup.
Green peas- 1 small cup.
Tomatoes- 2 large.
Onion- 1 small.
Ginger n garlic paste-1 tsp / 1inch n 1clove to grind.
Cashews- 4/5.
Cinnamon- 3-4 pieces.
Clove- 4/5.
Poppy seeds- 1/4 tsp.
Cardamom- 2 pods.
Green chili- 1
Chilli powder- 1 tsp.
Garam masla powder- 1 tsp.
Coriander powder- 1 tsp.
Cumin- 1 tsp.
Whole milk/ cream- 1/2 cup.
Oil.
Salt.

Method:
Start off by chopping onions and cutting paneer into cubes.

To grind:
Tomato cubes, soaked cashews, poppy seeds, ginger, garlic, green chili.
Grind into smooth paste.

In a heavy pan, heat oil. To the hot oil, add cumin, cinnamon, clove, cardamom followed by onion.
Fry onions until they turn pink, then add garam masala, red chilly powder followed by fresh coriander/ dhania powder. Fry till the mixture loses raw smell, take care not to burn the mixture. Add paneer cubes and peas; mix well till coated by masala.
Add the ground paste and cook for 4-5 minutes. The gravy becomes tick, now add whole milk/ cream and continue to cook for few more minutes. The whole dish become thick and rich. Add salt and garnish will coriander leaves.
Malai paneer gravy is ready to serve.

Eggplant (brinjal) curry.

North Karnataka is famous for its stuffed brinjal curry. I have tried to make my version of this curry. It tastes really good. Can be used as a side dish with chapathi or have it with rice. It gets better with time.

Ingredients:

Round small brinjal/egg plant - 5.

Onion-1 large.

Grated fresh coconut- 2 Tbsp.

Peanuts- 2 Tbsp.

Coriander seeds- 1Tbsp. 

Chana dhal- 1-Tbsp.

Urd dhal-1/4 tsp.

Cumin-1/4 tsp.

Sesame seeds-1 tsp.

Dry red chilies -5/6.

Cinnamon-1/4 inch piece.

Clove-2.

Turmeric-1 tsp.

Garlic- 1 clove.

Tamarind- small piece.

Oil- 2-3 Tbsp.

Salt.

Method:

To begin, wash and prep the eggplants. Cut the eggplants vertically into four halves without removing the Stalk.

Chop onions into small pieces.

To Grind the Masala:

In a heavy bottom pan, 

Take Chana dhal, Urd dhal, peanuts, coriander seeds, sesame seeds, cumin, chilies, cinnamon, clove and garlic and fry till they give a nice aroma for few minutes. Add tamarind, finally add freshly grated coconut and continue to fry for 2 more minutes.

Remove from heat and allow to cool. Once cool, grind the mixture to a smooth paste with little water.

In another heavy bottom pan-

Take oil, once the oil is hot, add cumin seeds followed by chopped onion. Fry the onion until they are translucent. Add turmeric powder and eggplants. Fry the egg plants for 5-6 minutes let them soften.  

Preferably use non stick pan as it will not burn at the base. Once the eggplants have started to soften, add the ground masala and cook for 6-8 minutes on medium flame. Oil starts to separate from the sides; this indicates that the curry is done. Add salt to taste.

Serve with chapathi or have it with rice. Enjoy it the next day, it really tastes better as it sits!!!

Usal Pav!

It's November, and the weather is getting cooler each day....and craving for something warm, hummmm....chats are the best comfort foods for this season. One such chat which is relatively easy to make and healthy too is Usal Pav.

Ingredients:
Sprouted Moong dhal- 1 cup.
Onion-2 Medium.
Tomatoes-2 Medium.
Ginger-1 small piece.
Garlic 1 small clove.
Green chili-1
Dry Coconut 1 tbsp
Coriander powder1 tsp.
Chili powder -1 tsp.
Garam masala powder- 1 tsp.
Poppy seeds- 1/4 tsp.
Salt.

To Garnish:
Finely chopped onion,
Tomatoes, and coriander leaves.
Sev/Mixture.

Method:
Soak the mong Dhal to sprout or use the sprouted Moong dhal if readily available.
Cook the dhal in the pressure cooker for one whistle with adequate water.
In heavy bottom pan/ wok lightly fry 1sliced onion with oil. To this add ginger, garlic, poppy seeds and dry coconut, fry till they change color lightly.

Allow this mixture to cool and grind to a smooth paste.
In another pan, add oil, add cumin seeds, and fry chopped onion.
Once the onion is slightly pink, add all the dry powders and fry for a minute.
Later, add chopped tomatoes and cook for few minutes.
Finally add the cooked dhal and simmer for 5-8 minutes, adjust the consistency by adding water.
Add salt to taste.
Once cooked this is a thick gravy.

Take the gravy into a bowl, add chopped onion, tomatoes and coriander.
Then sprinkle mixture and sev on top.
Enjoy the gravy as is or serve with pav buns!!

Usal Pav!

It's November, and the weather is getting cooler each day....and craving for something warm, hummmm....chats are the best comfort foods for this season. One such chat which is relatively easy to make and healthy too is Usal Pav.

Ingredients:
Sprouted Mong dhal- 1 cup.
Onion-2 Medium.
Tomatoes-2 Medium.
Ginger-1 small piece.
Garlic 1 small clove.
Green chili-1
Dry Coconut 1 tbsp
Coriander powder1 tsp.
Chili powder -1 tsp.
Garam masala powder- 1 tsp.
Poppy seeds- 1/4 tsp.

To Garnish:
Finely chopped onion,
Tomatoes, and coriander leaves.
Sev/Mixture.

Method:
Soak the mong Dhal to sprout or use the sprouted Mong dhal if readily available.
Cook the dhal in the pressure cooker for one whistle with adequate water.
In heavy bottom pan/ wok lightly fry 1 sliced onion, with oil, to this add ginger, garlic, poppy seeds and dry coconut, fry till they change color lightly.

Allow this mixture to cool and grind to a smooth paste.
In another pan add oil, add cumin seeds, and chopped onion.
Once the onion is slightly pink, add all the dry powders and fry for a minute.
Later, add chopped tomatoes and cook for few minutes.
Finally add the cooked dhal and simmer for 5-8 minutes, adjust the consistency by adding water.
Once cooked this is a thick gravy.

Take the gravy into a bowl, add chopped onion, tomatoes and coriander.
Then sprinkle mixture and sev on top.
Enjoy the gravy as is or serve with pav buns!!

Ribbon Muruku.

Wishing all my readers a very Happy Diwali/Deepavali.
The Festival of Lights is always celebrated with snacks and sweets. For savory snack I tried making the ribbon muruku. This is a very simple snack, that can be stored for few days and enjoyed.
The ingredients are very simple.

Ingredients:
Rice flour-1 cup
Besan flour- 1/4 cup
Ground fried bengal gram flour-1/4 cup.
Hing/asaphotida- 1/4 tsp
Jeera-1/2 tsp
White Till-1/2 tsp
Red chili powder-1/2 tsp
Salt
Oil to fry.

Method:
First grind the fried bengal gram into a smooth powder.
In a mixing bowl, add rice flour, friend gram flour and besan flour.
To this flour mixture, add chillie powder, hing, jeera and till along with salt to taste.
Simultaneously heat oil to deep fry the murukus.
Once the dry ingredients are mixed, add 2-3 tbsp of hot oil to the flour mixture and mix well. Add water to make a stiff dough.
Using the ribbon press make the murukus and deep fry them in oil, on a medium flame till golden.
 Drain them on a paper towel for any excess oil. Enjoy the muruku.

KOdu Bale.

Hello dear readers, Happy Janmashtami to everyone!
Life's been keeping me busy, and was unable to post any new recipes on my blog for some time. Good to be back.
 Krishna janmashtami in my family is celebrated in a grand way.  It is a tradition for us to prepare lots of sweet/ savory snacks and dishes and offer it to lord Krishna.
One such dish is Kodubale.
Kodubale is an authentic snack from the state of Karnataka. It is made from a mix of flours and shaped like a bangle which in Kannada is referred to as "Bale".
Kodubale is a good accompaniment with tea or coffee..

Ingredients:
Rice flour-1 cup.
Maida/ all purpose flour-2/4 cup.
Fine rave/semolina-2/4 cup.
 Fried bengal gram flour-2/4 cup.
Shredded fresh Coconut-1/2 cup.
Dry red chilies-4-5numbers.
Celery seed-1/2 tsp.
Hing- 1/4 tsp.
Salt.
Oil to deep fry.
Water to mix.

Method:
In a heavy bottom pan just lightly warm- all purpose flour and semolina for 2 mins.
Using the small grinding jar, grind the chilies, coconut and celery seeds  into a course mixture.
Take a mixing bowl, add rice flour along with all the other ingredients and mix well. To this mixture add 2-3 tbsp of hot oil.  By adding sufficient water make a stiff dough.
Once the oil is hot,  make along thick noodles from a small ball of dough,  then shape them into small bangles. Drop them gently into the hot oil and deep fry them till golden brown.
Drain them on a paper towel and serve warm or store them and use for several days.
I am sure it would not last for a long time.

KOdu Bale.

Hello dear readers, Happy janmashtami to everyone!
Life's been keeping me busy and us not able to post any new recipes on my blog for quite some time.
 Krishna janmashtami in my family is celebrated in a grand way.  It is a tradition for us to prepare lots of sweet and savory, snacks and dishes and offer it to lord Krishna.
One such dish is Kodubale.
Kodubale is an authentic snack from the state of Karnataka, it is  made from a mix of flours and shaped like a bangle which in Kannada is referred to as "Bale".
Kodubale is a good accompaniment with tea or coffee..

Ingredients:
Rice flour-1 cup.
Maida/ all purpose flour-2/4 cup.
Fine rave/semolina-2/4 cup.
 Fried bengal gram flour-2/4 cup.
Shredded fresh Coconut-1/2 cup.
Dry red chilies-4-5numbers.
Celery seed-1/2 tsp.
Hing- 1/4 tsp.
Salt.
Oil to deep fry.
Water to mix.

Method:
In a heavy bottom pan just lightly warm- all purpose flour and semolina for 2 mins.
Using the small grinding jar, grind the chilies, coconut and celery seeds  into a course mixture.
Take a mixing bowl, add rice flour along with all the other ingredients and mix well. To this mixture add 2-3 tbsp of hot oil.  By adding sufficient water make a stiff dough.
Once the oil is hot,  make along thick noodles from a small ball of dough,  then shape them into small bangles. Drop them gently into the hot oil and deep fry them till golden brown.
Drain them on a paper towel and serve warm or store them and use for several days.
I am sure it would not last for a long time.

Rasgulla.

Well, Rasgulla is no strange dessert. It is a famous Bengali Sweet made from milk. I am from south India, it really was intimidating for me to make this dish for the first time. Since we always ate Rasgulla at a sweet stall or brought home a can from the grocery store. 

This time the reason to make rasagulla was unplanned!! I happened to have almost 3 cups of whole milk still left in the carton and it was the last date to consume. I was not sure to use it for drinking, instead choose to make paneer. It is fresh paneer that gave me the thought to make Rasgulla.

Ingredients:

Whole Milk- 3 cups.

Vinegar/ Lemon juice- 3 tsp.( or more to curdle the milk).

Sugar/ Water, 1:1 ( to make simple syrup). 

Cardamom-1

Cheese Cloth.

There are two steps to make this sweet dish:

First- to make the fresh paneer.

Bring whole milk to boil on a medium flame. Once the milk starts to simmer, add  vinegar or lemon juice to the milk, it will immediately curdle. Remove from heat.

Once the milk curdles strain the liquid from the milk solids. 

Since we have added vinegar or lemon juice to curdle, it may have the sourness and smell of those acids, so wash the milk solids under cold water a couple of times.

Then strain the fresh paneer using a cheese cloth. Remove most of the water. And allow it to sit for 

sometime and squeeze out anymore liquid in the paneer, don't try to make it too dry.

Once the paneer is strained well, knead the resulting paneer into a smooth ball.

 By kneading it well, paneer becomes a smooth white ball with no grittiness. (There is a picture of smooth paneer after kneading in the picture).

Next make the large cheese balls into small rounds and keep them ready.

Second Step:

In the mean time almost towards the end of making paneer, take a big boiling pot and add sugar and water to make a simple syrup, (since it need to boil for some time the quantity of syrup should me more).

Once the syrup has started to boil,  add the small paneer balls to the boiling sugar solution and cook in the solution for 10-12 minutes with the lid closed on the vessel. Keep checking the pot, in between  add the cardamom powder.

We can see that the paneer balls have puffed up and starts to float. To make sure they are done use a spoon to see if the rasgulla is a bit rubbery and does not break.

Remove from heat and cool it before serving.

Carrot Halwa.

Carrot Halwa also know as Gajar ka halwa is a famous dessert recipe from India, delicious and made with carrots, makes it nutritious too.
The best time to make carrot halwa is during winter months. It can be served as dessert to guests along with ice cream, the hot and cold combination is too good!! This Halwa can be stored for a few days in the fridge and reheated, so if you have plans of inviting guests this is a perfect make ahead dessert. Try this recipe and enjoy!!!

Ingredients: Serves 2-3 people.

Carrots-3 large.
Whole milk- 1/2 cup.
Sugar- 1/1/2 cup.( sugar can be used as per taste)
Cardamom- 1 pod.
Ghee- 4 tbsp.
Cashew and raisins.

Method: I have followed the traditional method.

Start the process by cleaning, peeling and grating the carrots.
In a heaven bottom pan, add 2 tbsp of ghee, to the hot ghee add the cashews and raisins and fry till golden brown.
Remove the fried nuts from the pan. To the same pan add the grated carrots and fry for 2-3 minutes.
Then add  whole milk to the carrots and allow the carrots to cook for about 5 minutes.
Keep stirring to avoid the base from getting burnt. The milk will evaporate and that is when you add the sugar.
Once the sugar is added the mixture will get watery and continue to cook till all the water evaporates and the halwa starts to leave the sides of the pan. At this stage add 1-2 tsp of ghee and powdered cardamom. Lastly add the fried cashew and raisins.
Halwa is ready.