Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Rava Kesari (semolina fudge)

I had prepared this on new years day. I hope it is okay to publish this with just a delay of 36 hours ;)...Also, i was so busy attending and making calls on that day i ended up with a white kesari. Honestly, kesari in my house always used to be white. Even being in TN for nearly 2 decades could not influence my mom/grandmom to color Kesari...But, my wedding did the trick. Getting married into a tamilian family meant that i paint my kesari with bright orange color and also add insane amount of Dalda (not even ghee :( ) to it. I wont complain about the taste though. Like everything else, there is a mom's side version and one in-law's side version of Kesari...Anyway, though my kesari looked white and pale, the taste compensated for the looks.


Ingredients

Semolina/sooji - 1 cup
Water - 2 cups
Milk (boiled and cooled) - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 3/4 cup
Cardamom - 1 pod
Ghee/dalda - 3 spoons
Cashews - 6 (broken into tiny pieces)
Raisins - 6 nos.

Method

Dry roast the semolina/sooji and keep aside. Now add one spoonful of ghee to a wok and add the cardamom pod and cashews and raisins to it. Let them turn golden brown. Remove them to a plate. Now to this ghee add the already roasted rava and fry for some more time (till you start feeling like eating it as is :) ).. Remove to a plate and let it cool. Now to the same wok, add water and milk and let it come to a boil. Add Sugar and let it dissolve. Now add the semolina to this boiling water slowly and keep stirring it to avoid lumps. This whole mixture would start to bubble and then would slow down. Add the remaining 2 spoonfuls of Ghee to this mixture and keep stirring till it starts leaving the sides. Once done, either set into a greased plate and cut, or serve in smaller bowls.

Note : Patience is the key to a good kesari. I used to skip the double roasting step and would end up with a lump.... One thing i always remind myself is that there is no short cut to success, even if it involves only cooking.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Gram dal + Tomato chutney


This comes from maternal Grandmother. She is the chutney expert of the house. I have learnt so many things from her, that i would need another life time to achieve her level of skill :)

Ingredients :

Ripe Tomatoes (sour ones) - 4 large
Gran dal - 1/4 Cup
Red chillies - 6 nos.
Salt - To taste
Oil - 1 spoonful
Mustard - 1/8 of a spoon
Split urad dal - 1/8 of a spoon
Cummin - 1/8 of a spoon
Curry leaf - 10 nos.
Turmeric powder - small pinch

Method :

Add some oil to the wok. Once hot, add the gram dal and red chillies to it. Once nicely roasted, remove to a plate. Now to the same oil add the tomatoes and cook till done along with turmeric powder. Let it cool. Grind the roasted dal, tomatoes and red chillies to a smooth paste (Add water if required). Season with mustard, cummin, curry leaves and urad dal. Serve with Dosa/Idly. This can be had with hot rice as well.

Note : If you are planning to serve this with rice, ensure you dont add too much water while griding.

I love to have some kind of sev with this chutney. Try it with boondi. I swear you will fall for it.




Murungai keerai adai (pan cake with drumstick leaves)

Am back in the new year 2011 with a healthy and filling recipe. This is good for all the kids and elders who detest anything good and nutritious.

Ingredients

Gram dal - 2 cups
Rice - 2 tablespoons
Urad dal - 4 tablespoons
green chillies - 3 nos.
salt - to taste
Drumstick leaves - 1 cup, cleaned and dried.

Method :

Soak the dals and rice together overnight. Grind to a thick batter along with the green chillies. Mix salt and the drumstick leaves into the batter. prepare dosa's as you always do. Traditional method is to make the batter so thick that you need your hand to spread it on the hot griddle. Anyway, we are in the fast moving world, and i wouldn't risk my fingers for a adai, no matter how healthy it is ;)