Rava Laddoo for the Indian Cooking Challenge

Hi, hello, how are you all? I know I have disappeared from the blogosphere for some time. As I told in the previous post, my sister and her family are with us for the summer break. So naturally I became little busy chitchatting and visiting different places. Actually I didn’t want to take a break, but time just flew by. Finally I am back with an interesting recipe Srivalli has chosen for “Indian Cooking Challenge” event. I prepared these for my little one’s 5^th b’day party last Saturday. Everyone liked it so much. Thanks for the yummy recipe Srivalli!!

Here is the recipe given by Srivalli:

Ingredients: (Makes - 10 Laddoos of normal size)

• Rava / Semolina - 1 cup
• Sugar - 1 cup
• Ghee - 25 gms.
• Milk - 25 ml
• Cardamom powder - a pinch
• Cashew nuts - 10 whole nuts
• Raisins - 10
• Grated fresh coconut - 25 gms

Preparation:

Heat 2 tsp of ghee in a kadai. Once the ghee is hot enough, simmer the flame and roast cashew nuts and raisins. Once the raisins balloon up, remove. Then roast the grated coconut. Remove once done and Keep all these aside.

Add the remaining ghee and roast the Rava till it’s well roasted and aroma starts coming out.

In a bowl, take all the roasted Rava, Nuts, and Coconut and add the Cardamom powder. Then add the sugar. Mix well.

Then slowly add the warm milk into the bowl. Check if you are able to gather as balls. When you find that milk added is enough to get you laddos, transfer it back to the kadai and cook in sim for 2 mins. Mix well and then cover it and let it rest for 2 mins. Then immediately make balls or laddoos.

My usual way of making Rava Laddus is slightly different than the method given by Srivalli. I first roast cashews, raisins and cardamom in hot ghee and keep aside. Then add rava and sugar and stir for some time and finally add little milk till the mixture comes together. I don't add coconut powder. Then mix cashews, raisins and cardamom with rava mixture and turn off the flame. I take small portions of rava mixture and roll into balls when rava is still warm as it tends to get hardened if delayed.

Tip: To handle warm rava mixture without burning your hand, take some cold milk in a plate, dip your hand/palm in it and then roll the ball. You won’t feel hotness of the rava mixture.

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Spiced Honeydew Melon Seeds Powder

Do you remember Pumpkin Seeds Powder that I posted long back? This time I tried making a spiced powder with Honeydew Melon Seeds in the same manner. It turned out so delicious and aromatic.

After cutting the fruit, I scooped out all the seeds inside it, washed them well to remove the pulp attached to the seeds and spread them flat on a plate. Then I let the seeds dry for a day under hot sun. If you don’t have proper sunlight, you can just place it inside the house too and let the seeds get dried very well.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dried Honeydew Melon Seeds
• 1 cup Black Gram (Minappappu, Urad Daal)
• ¼ cup Coriander Seeds (Dhaniyaalu, Dhaniya)
• 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
• 4 or 5 dry Red Chilies (adjust according to taste)
• ¼ tsp Asafetida (Inguva, Hing)
• Salt

Preparation:

Dry roast all the ingredients except asafetida and salt. Leave aside to cool completely.

Grind them into a fine powder (coarse powder is OK too!) by adding salt and asafetida.

That’s all! Enjoy this yummy and spicy powder with piping hot rice and a dollop of ghee.

My sister and her family are arriving tomorrow to spend summer vacation with us, so I am going to serve this delicious powder with rice. Let me see what they would say!! :)

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Spinach in Yogurt (Spinach Perugu Pachadi)

I always try to use yogurt/curd in different dishes due to its health benefits. It cools down the body and gives strength to our bones. And it is so good for the stomach and helps to develop good immune system. This time I added spinach to it for added benefits. As we all knew, spinach is low in calories and high in vitamins. It provides a lot of health benefits for our body such as strong bones, smart brain, energy, good eye sight etc….

I tried this combination for the first time, though I heard about spinach raita many times. This goes very well with rice and chapathis. I made this when we had some guests over for the weekend and everyone liked it so much. But I couldn’t click good pictures of the dish as everything was almost out!!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chopped Spinach (fresh or frozen)
• 2 cups plain Yogurt
• 1 Tomato, chopped
• 2 or 3 green Chilies, chopped
• ½ tsp Rasam Powder
• ½ tsp Coconut Powder, dry
• ½ tsp Turmeric Powder
• A pinch of Asafetida (Inguva, Hing)
• Some Curry Leaves
• Some Cilantro Leaves
• ½ tsp Mustard Seeds
• ¼ tsp Cumin Seeds
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp Oil

Preparation:

Heat oil in a bowl/pan and add mustard seeds. When they splutter add cumin seeds and stir well.

Then add curry leaves + cilantro and stir well. Later add chopped spinach + tomato + green chilies + rasam powder + coconut powder + turmeric + asafetida and mix well with a spatula.

Pour some water (approx. 1 cup) just enough to soak the added items and cover. Let the spinach mixture cook well for some time.

Later when you feel spinach is cooked well, add yogurt and mix very well. Add salt and turn off the flame quickly as yogurt tends to break apart.

Enjoy this yummy spinach yogurt pachadi with rice/chapathis.

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Easy Garlic Bread

Thank you all for your sweet wishes on our marriage anniversary!! We are so glad to read all your wishes!!

If you’re like me who always buy bulk items and couldn’t consume them soon, you should look at this recipe. It makes good use of leftover breads. If you have any leftover hot dog buns and bored to eat them the same way again and again, turn them into delicious garlic bread. Wondering how? 

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Carrot Fudge with Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt

As today (June 8) is our marriage anniversary, I would like to celebrate with this sweet post. I made this yummy dessert using Oikos Greek Yogurt. I heard a lot about this Oikos Greek Yogurt before but never tried it in my cooking before and never ate some. After tasting a spoonful of this yogurt, I realised what I was missing. It was so yummy, smooth, thick and creamy. And one better thing is this yogurt is fat free and is so healthy.

Here is how I got acquainted with this delicious Greek Yogurt:

Few days back, I received an email from Kristina, of Stoneyfield Farm that produces many yummy varieties of organic yogurts, smoothies and milk. She asked me if I am interested to try a very famous Oikos Organic Greek yogurt. I said yes, and she has sent me coupons for the same and a cute tote bag. Thank you Kristina!!

I bought two varieties of Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt, one vanilla and one honey!! I searched on the internet for some interesting recipes using Greek yogurt, but none attracted me. So I decided to make my own creation with mixing and matching ingredients. Finally I settled on this yummy carrot fudge. I used Vanilla flavored Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt for my fudge. I reserved honey flavored one for some other interesting recipe, which I will post soon.

What is the difference between regular yogurt and Greek yogurt?

The difference between Greek yogurt and regular yogurt is in the amount of liquid, or whey, that remains after the yogurt sets. Greek yogurt is strained to remove most of the whey, creating a thick condensed yogurt. The straining process increases the protein and reduces the lactose, making the final product very healthy and delicious. Source: From here.

Now coming to the recipe details:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups grated Carrot
• ½ cup Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt
• 1 cup Sugar
• ¼ tsp Cardamom Seeds
• Few Raisins
• 2 or 3 strands of Saffron (Optional)
• ½ cup Water
• 2 tbsp unsalted Butter
• 2 tsp Custard Powder
  

Preparation:

Melt butter in a non-stick pan and add cardamom seeds + carrot + sugar and mix well. Pour water and let the carrot cook for some time.

When carrots become soft and all the water gets absorbed, add yogurt along with raisins + saffron and stir well.

Keep stirring until the mixture becomes thick and leaves the sides of the pan. Finally add some custard powder and stir well. After some time the carrot mixture gets thickened.

At this point, turn off the flame and transfer the contents into a greased plate and press firmly. Allow it to cool for some time and cut into desired shapes. This fudge is so soft and chewy and yummy. Enjoy the yummy fudge any time of the day!!

This fudge has a little tint of sourness due to the yogurt added, still tastes great!!

Tip: If you think the pieces are not coming out good, place the plate in the refrigerator for some time and the pieces come out perfect. But keep in mind that the fudge will be soft and chewy even if you placed it in the refrigerator for a long time.

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Fusion Curry (Chickpeas and Kidney Beans in Pineapple Gravy)

I recently bought a big pack of canned Pineapple chunks as I wanted to try some recipes with pineapple. For the first recipe, I tried using pineapples in a curry form that would go well with chapathis. First I just added chickpeas to it, but later wanted to add kidney beans too, just wondering how they will taste with pineapple. But to my amazement, they all co-operated very well and turned into a delicious, aromatic and colorful curry within minutes.

This is so easy and fast recipe. Here it goes:

Ingredients:

• 1 can of Pineapple chunks (20 oz) equal to 2.5 cups, drained
• 1 can of Chickpeas (14 oz) equal to 1.75 cups, drained
• 1 can of Kidney Beans (14 oz) equal to 1.75 cups, drained
• 1 medium sized Potato, peeled and chopped into cubes
• A handful of Cilantro Leaves
• Some Curry Leaves
• 4 or 5 Green Chilies
• ½ tsp Turmeric Powder
• 1 tsp Oil
• ¼ tsp Cumin Seeds
• Salt to taste
  

Preparation:

Grind together pineapple chunks (don’t add juice) + green chilies + cilantro into a fine paste. No need to add water as pineapples already has some juice in them. Keep aside.

In a pan add chickpeas + kidney beans + potato pieces + curry leaves + cumin seeds and oil. Mix well, add ¼ cup water and turmeric, cover and leave on medium flame until all the water is absorbed and potatoes are cooked well (approx. 5 minutes).

To this, add the pineapple paste and mix well. Leave the pan for 5 more minutes until all the pineapple essence is absorbed and turn off the flame. Don’t let the curry to become too dry. It should be moist and gravy like (look at the picture). Adjust salt.

Transfer the yummy curry into a serving bowl and enjoy with your rotis/chapthis.

Hope you liked another crazy but yummy creation from my kitchen!!

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