15 DOUBLE KA MEETHA / SHAHI TUKDA

Wishing you all a very Happy and a Prosperous New Year

 

On the first day of 2013 I am starting with a sweet post called Double Ka Meetha / Shahi Tukda/ Shahi Tukra. This sweet/ desert is very famous in Hyderabad and served also in marriages. I love this simple and now my older son joins with me. Last week we( Me and kids) were deciding what to make for the New Year especially for my first post of the year and that too a recipe – a sweet recipe which I have not posted till now when my son jumped and said yes for this sweet. He just loves this sweet and was asking me to make for over a month. Lately I have reduced making sweets like I used before so was waiting for a occasion. The moment I started to prepare, he came and peeped in and asked if he could help. I said yes and he started taking all the bread slices from the pack and removed the edges and cut into triangles and then was patiently waiting for me to fry them and serve. I fried the first batch and wanted to click when they were fresh but, I could see hubby and son waiting for me serve rather than click. I was like wait just few more minutes as I am clicking after a long time. All I could was serve my son first and poor hubby waited till I clicked and after which I served him, it was over by the time I started to fry the next batch. He said it tasted so good and was perfect in sweetness. It made my day nice and happy and also when my son asked for more :D

Now let’s turn to the recipe:-

I had blogged about this recipe about 4 years back, when I had started my blog as it was one of my favourite. Now here I am with a picture that can tempt you to try soon. I managed to somehow click them when I was half way frying the bread slices of the next batch.

To make Shahi Tukda we need 

Bread slices – 5

Ghee or oil – ½ cup

Nuts – crushed pista slices or almond flakes of chironji nuts

For the sugar syrup:-

Water – 1 cup

Sugar – ¾ cup

Rose water – 1 tbsp

For the Rabri :-

Milk – 4 cups

Sugar – ½ cup

Cardamom powder – 2 pinch

Saffron – few strands

Boil milk in a vessel when it boils and bubbles up reduce flame and continue cooking. Let the milk reduce in quantity and allow it to thicken. Keep stirring. Next add sugar and mix well. Also add some saffron strands. Mix well and switch off. Add cardamom powder.

In another vessel take water and sugar for the syrup. Heat it up and allow it to boil. Once it boils reduce flame and let it cook for another 2 – 3 minutes. Add rose water and remove. Keep it aside.

Take the bread slices and remove the crust. Cut into half as a triangle or rectangle or any other shape. Heat oil or ghee( for best taste) and add the cut slices in batches and fry both side till golden brown. Remove and dip in sugar syrup so both sides are completely soaked. Remove or arrange in a serving plate. Pour the prepared rabri and top with some nuts and serve.

As an alternate to frying:-

 

You can also apply some butter on both sides of the bread slices and bake in the oven (if you want to avoid frying in oil or ghee )until they are golden brown. Next follow the same procedure and serve.

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11 BREAD HALWA

Bread Halwa/ Pudding

I Know recently that I have not been very active in posting/blogging/blog hopping, reason being many  ( kids busy schedule, get togethers). Will be back in action soon. But, today did not want to miss posting anything as it is my Wedding Anniversary. Though I did not make this sweet today, just felt like posting a sweet which I had prepared few weeks back.
This is a very simple sweet that can be prepared in a jiffy or when you feel there is some unused bread at home that had to be consumed very soon. Can prepare it when you have unexpected guests as the time for preparation is very very less compared to other halwas.

Ingredients:-
Bread Slices - around 10 to 12( Use unsalted bread or plain bread)
Milk - 3 cups
Sugar - 1 cup( more or less as desired)
Ghee - 1/2 cup
Cardamom powder - 2 pinch
Cashew pieces - few
Almonds/Pista - few crushed(optional for crunchness)

 
Remove the crust of the slices and tear into small pieces.
Heat ghee in a pan and add cashew pieces, when lightly brown remove and keep aside. 


In the same remaining ghee add bread slices and fry till golden brown and crisp. 
(An other form of frying is remove the crust and apply butter or ghee and shallow fry on tawa or in a toaster and then cut or break into pieces. OR can fully deep fry in ghee for super taste :D) 

Immediately add milk and reduce flame. Let it to boil and cook. Wait till the bread is soft and melted. Add in more milk if it thickens or if not add sugar and cook. Wait for 5 minutes, also add cardamom powder and crushed almonds and pista. Mix well. Finally add fried cashew pieces. Mix and serve.

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22 CHANNA DHAL PAYASAM - My 550 Th Post

Channa Dal(Bengal Gram) Kheer / Kadalai Paruppu Payasam/ Senaga Pappu Payasam/ Kadale Bele Payasa

  
A sweet post to celebrate my 550th Post and also to reach Eight Lakh + Hits(8,00,000).
Thanks to all my Friends, readers and Family for helping me reach this milestone and please continue your support.

Channa dhal payasam is one of my favourite, I prepare this most of the time for any celebration or festival at home as this
is also a favourite among my Family members. To celebrate 2 events in my blog today I am posting a sweet dish.

 


Channa Dhal - 1 cup
Jaggery - 1 cup( or a little above if more sweetness is required)
Coconut Milk - 1 - 1 1/2 cups( Thick milk)
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Cardamom Powder - few pinches
Cashewnut - few broken pieces
Coconut Pieces - few chopped thinly(optional)

 

Wash and pressure cook channa dhal with enough water for 3 - 4 whistles. When pressure is down remove open the lid and mash the dhal lightly with a masher. Add jaggery and coconut milk and bring it to a boil. Reduce flame and allow it to boil for 4 - 5 minutes. Add cardamom powder and remove. In a small kadai/pan heat ghee and add broken cashewnut and chopped coconut pieces and fry till light brown. Pour this on the payasam. Mix and serve hot or warm.

Adding coconut pieces is purely optional, you can always skip this part.
Adding coconut milk gives a very good flavor to this payasam. You can also skip this and substitute with regular milk.

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23 MAA VILAKKU

Maa Vilakku / Rice Flour Lamp / Biyyam Pindi Deepam / Akki Thambittu

 

Maa Vilakku is a lamp made with freshly pound rice flour and jaggery prepared during some months like Thai(Mid January - Mid Feb on Fridays) or Aadi( Mid July - Mid August on Fridays(or Tuesdays or Sundays) and or Purattaasi( Mid September - Mid October on Saturdays) and offered to god. The tradition varies from family to family. During the month Aadi, this is prepared and offered to goddesses like Mariamma or Amman or even to the House god or Diety especially on days like Friday which is considered to be very auspicious if not can also prepare and offer on Tuesdays or Sundays which is also considered good for Goddesses. Also it depends on the family to light one lamp or 2 lamps. It is then placed on top of a Banana Leaf.

Spread in front of the diety and the lamps are placed with some flowers below it and kumkum/vermilion applied to all four sides on the dent/hole where wick is placed. Ghee poured in the hole and wicks are litted. 

Other than preparing it on certain days, my grandparents used to prepare this and take to us to a temple( SankaranKovil), a temple near our native and offer it to the god in return to some prayings that is prayed for a cause( That is for a quick cure of something that someone has been having for a long period).

In Karnataka this is called as Akki Thambittu and prepared during Mangala Gowri Vrata and Nagar Pachami( The fifth day after Bheemana Amavasya that comes on Mid July - August)

Note, this post is just showing you how to prepare and how it looks. This has not been offered to any god, Will update the post with new pictures with the offerings.

Recipe and details from Mom:-

Raw Rice / Pacharisi / Pachi Biyyam - 1 cup
Jaggery / Vellam / Bellam - 1 cup
Ghee
Wicks
 

Wash and soak rice in water for 20 - 30 minutes. Drain water completely and spread on a cloth to dry under shade. Next when still moist, powder it in a mixie to a fine powder. Use a siever and sieve the powder over a paper. Place back the ones that does pass the siever again the mixie and run it to powder again until you are left with just few granules.
Next add the grated/shaved/powdered jaggery and mix well. Run this mixture once again in the mixie so both gets mixed. Remove and transfer to a wide container. Press it well and mix them both to form a dough consistency. The pressing itself warms the jaggery to melt and help in mixing well. Next shape as lamps like a round ball. Use the thumb to press on top to make a dent or hole to place the wick. Instead can use a lemon and just make a small push to form the hole. Pour ghee to fill it and place wick. Lit it and place and offer it to the god.

Break into pieces and distribute as prasadam to eat.

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31 MANGO KULFI

Mango Kulfi


My kids love kulfi and for a long time were asking me to make some. Last week made some regular kulfis and mango kulfis. Here though summer starts end of June, before that itself it is getting hotter and hotter eachday. Kids were waiting for the weather to get better to play out as winter is very long for us and also waiting for their summer break which starts this week for one boy and next week for the other one. I was waiting to make these which I did last week and they got over so soon that they have been asking me to make another batch which I will be doing very soon.

It hardly takes few minutes to assemble and prepare and pour in moulds. So just grab hold of the things and add the ingredients in a blender or deep bowl and mix in for few minutes until creamy and frothy and it is done. Pour in moulds or flat bowl and freeze until done.

You can make this in large quantity or as required for the family. Here I am giving the measurement for large quantity. You can reduce the same to half or 1/3 as required.


Mango Pulp - 2 Cups
Sweetened condensed milk - 1 can( 14 OZ)
Evaporated Milk - 1 can (12 OZ)
Heavy Whippping Cream - 1 ( 1 pint - 16 OZ)
Pistachio - few powdered
Chopped mixed nuts - as required( optional)
Saffron - few strands(optional)

Add all the ingredients in a blender and switch on for 1 one and half to two minutes until nice creamy and frothy. Pour on kulif/icecream/pop moulds or on a flat glass tray and freeze at least for 4 hours.

Or can add the ingredients in a deep bowl and use hand mixer and mix in medium speed for 1 - 2 minutes.


Serving:-
Remove from moulds, cut into desired shapes and serve with some powdered pistachio.

Just before pouring in moulds or glass tray can add some saffron and or chopped nuts.

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31 ALMOND / BADAM KATLI

Almond / Badam Katli Version 1


Posting a sweet dish for my Son's(Younger One) Birthday today. I have already posted Kaju Katli that I made last year for his Birthday and this year I am posting another sweet with Badam. The step and procedure to make is the same as Kaju/Cashew Katli. Though I make this sweet very often I had not clicked and posted it till now. When I asked him what sweet he wants for the day, he happily replied Diamond sweet as he calls this Katli and I knew this would be his answer.

This version of mine is very simple and so easy as 123 to prepare that no one can go wrong. Best to prepare with silvered almonds or almond powder.


Silvered Almonds/Badam - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Water - 2 - 3 tbsp

For rolling:-
Parchment Paper
Rolling Pin


In a pan/kadai dry roast almonds for 3 - 4 minutes without discoloring. Remove and cool completely. Add the sugar in a mixie/blender and run for few seconds till they powder fine. Keep aside. Next add the roasted almonds and powder as fine as possible. Next add the sugar to the same and run the mixie for few more seconds so that they both get mixed well.


Heat the same pan in medium flame. Add the ghee and before it changes its color pour in the powdered ingredients. Keep turning around with a spatula so it gets cooked and a soft dough like paste consistency is formed. If the dry ingredients are still too dry then add few tbsp of water and keep stirring so it does not stick and cook till it leaves out the side. Immediately transfer to a parchment. Place it in the middle and cover into half. Using a rolling pin roll as thin as possible. Open one of the side and with a knife cut into as shape needed. Wait till it cools down a bit and store it. The unshaped ones you can place back in the same pan with a tsp of water and stir again to get a soft paste and follow the same procedure.

Note can add few drops of any flavor/essence like rose or almond to enhance the flavor. Store and enjoy your home made Badam/Katlis.

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38 KAAYI(COCONUT) OBBATTU / HOLIGE

Kaayi Obbattu / Holige - Thengai Boli ( Coconut and Jaggery Stuffed Sweet Flat Bread).


I have already mentioned about this obbattu in some of my posts and it is one of my favourite among all obbattus. Love the soft filling inside and the most important the shelf life of this obbattu is more than any other dhal obbattu. You can keep outside in normal temparature for 3 - 4 days and many days in a refrigerator. Long back when I was working in Bangalore my home town there was a store in Jayanagar which
was very close to my working place and me along with my friends used to get some packets and eat to satisfy ourselves.

Since I love this a lot, I always make sure that I get it freshly made at home and bring it back with me from my trip to India back to US. My mother will be busy with me in packing things and final shopping so my neighbour/tenant aunty does this for me.


For the outer cover:-

Fine sooji/ Rawa/Chiroti Rawa/ Semolina - 1 1/4 cup
Maida/ All purpose flour - 1 1/4 cup
Salt for taste
Turmeric powder - very little
Oil - 5 - 6 spoon

For the filling/poorna:-
Jaggery - 2 1/2 cups
Coconut( grated) - 2 1/2 cups
Cardamom powder - 2 pinch
Poppy seeds - 1/2 tbsp

Additional :-
Poppy seeds - few tsp
Ghee for frying
Plastic sheets/banana leaf / holige paper for rolling/pressing


In a bow mix rawa and maida with salt and turmeric. Add water and oil and mix into a very soft dough. The consistency should be very loose than chapathi dough. When pressed it should just go very easily. Then comes the kneading part, the more you press with your fist and palm the more softer dough you get. So keep on doing this and add another spoon of oil and cover and keep aside. When tired give some time and
repeat the step. I remember my neighbour pound the dough in a stone mortal and hitting it with a pounding stone. This makes the dough very very soft and easy to roll and tastier to eat.

In a different vessel add jaggery and melt it with a cup of water and heat it till it just melts. Remove and strain the syrup and place back the syrup and heat it up. Add grated coconut( can use frozen coconut, first thaw and if the flakes are thick/big then run once in a mixer and remove) and keep on mixing until all the moisture has left and thick enough to hold in hands and make balls. Note once cool the mixture
does become lightly harder so keep this in mind. Add poppy seeds and cardamom powder. Allow it to cool.

First prepare balls for the cover and the filling: Note that the cover has to be slightly smaller than the filling(One round smaller than the filling that is the saying).




Apply oil to the rolling sheet. Take a ball for the outer layer and press and pull the corner ends. Note leave the middle part intact and it has to thicker inside. Place a ball of filling and cover the filling with the pulled layers so there is no gap. Add few pinches of poppy seeds on top and below the balls.

Start pressing with your fingers as thin as possible. Some tip keep pressing with one hand and with the other hand rotate the rolling sheet in opposite direction so that you r hands stay intact and it is pressed evenly. This way you get a perfect shape and a thin obbattu. An other way to roll is place another plastic sheet on top and with a rolling pin press as thin as possible.


Heat a tawa and place the rolled obbattu and cook on both sides till done and brown spots are visible.

Apply ghee on top.
Remove and serve.

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34 COCONUT CUSTARD HALWA

Coconut Custard Halwa


Craving for some sweet that can be had hot or cold and also which can be prepared in less than 15 minutes, then do try out this simple halwa.


Here goes the recipe

Custard powder - 5 - 6 tbsp( Preferably Strawberry flavor)
Coconut - 2 cups grated or a can of coconut milk
Sugar - 3/4 cup
Ghee/clarified butter - 1 tbsp

Optional - mixed nuts, chopped dry fruits(tuti fruity)

If using grated coconut, then grind it with 3 cups of hot water to a fine paste and extract thick milk.

I used a can of coconut milk and diluted with a cup of water. To it add sugar and custard powder. Mixed well to avoid any lumps.




Heat a pan and pour the mix and allow it to come up to a boil, reduce flame and cook till it is thickened to halwa consistency( for around 5 minutes). Add ghee and mix. Add chopped nuts and or dry fruits(tuti fruity) and mix well. Pour and spread on an ungreased sheet/plate and cool. Cut into required shape or pour in decorative/serving bowl and cool and serve.


P.S:-I did not have strawberry flavored custard powder, so instead have used vanilla flavor.

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18 SWEET / SAKKARAI PONGAL Version 2

Sweet / Sakkarai Pongal - Version 2


An other version of making sweet pongal.

Rice - Raw rice / long grain - 1 cup
Moong dhal - 1/4 cup
Jaggery - 2 cups
Milk - 2 cups
Cardamom powder - 2 pinch
Cashew and raisin - few
Ghee - 3- 4 tbsp
Grated Coconut - 2- 3 tbsp(optional)


Dry roast moong dhal till you get a nice aroma and rinse them in water once or twice along with rice. Drain water and keep aside for 30 minutes. Add milk and 4 cups of water and pressure cook for 4 whistles or cook in a rice cooker( I cooked in a rice cooker).
Meanwhile dissolve jaggery in a cup of water and strain with a filter. Transfer back to the vessel.


When the rice is cooked, lightly mash with a spatula and transfer them to the jaggery syrup. Cook in low flame till they are mixed well and mashed.
Finally add cardamom powder and grated coconut. Mix well. Heat ghee in a small kadai/pan and fry cashew and raisins and pour on the pongal. Mix well.

Sending this to Kurunji kathambam's Pongal Feast Event.


My other Pongal recipes

Sweet Pongal - Version 1
Ven Pongal
Kalkandu Sadham
Pithikkina Pappu Kura
Masala / Paruppu Vada

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43 BADAM / ALMOND HALWA - My 500th Post

Badam / Almond Halwa


A sweet dish to start with the New year and also to celebrate my 500th post. Can't believe that I reached 500 in 2 years of blogging. Thanks to each one of you to make this happen. Keep visiting and conitnue your support.

Almonds - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Water - 1 cup
Milk - 1 cup
Ghee - 3 tbsp
Saffron strands - few


For garnishing:-
Almond flakes and or chironji nuts



If using almonds with skin - then immerse in hot water(1 cup) or microwave in bowl for a minute or two(wait for 15 minutes) and squeeze out the skin to peel out.
Soak almonds in water for 3 - 4 hours. Soak and grind to a paste( not to a very fine paste- just a coarse paste will work good(taste and texture wise)).


Heat a tbsp of ghee and add paste, cook for 4 - 5 minutes and add milk. Keep stirring often so not to stick to the pan and cook till all the water leaves out. Next add sugar and another tbsp of ghee and cook till it is thick and all the moisture has absorbed. Finally add the remaining ghee and saffrom strands. Cool, once cool it will be start to thicken. Garnish with almond flakes and or chironji nuts and enjoy.
Can reduce the amount of water and milk to 3/4 cup each.


Here I have used a pack of silvered almonds. I did not soak - planned to make it all of a sudden on hubby's request. So just toasted in a pan to make them lightly crisp and made a paste with water immediately. Late followed the above recipe. Kids and hubby just loved and asked me to make it again soon.

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