I wish all my readers a very Happy Diwali. Diwali is arguably the most celebrated festival in India andpeople enjoy the occasion with sweets, lights and fireworks! This year I tried making badam (Almonds) halwa. I think peeling the almonds is the tricky part as it takes sometime. I did realize that we get peeled almonds from the supermarket and can save some time and effort. Making of halwa itself is not that difficult.
Ingredients:
1 cup of Badam 1 1/4 cup of sugar 3 tbsp of ghee 1/4 cup of milk few strands of saffron
Preparation:
1.Soak Badam for 4 hours in warm water. Soaksaffron in 1 spoon of milk.
2.Here
comes the tricky part, peeling the skin of badam. Grind badam with milk
(use as little milk as possible). Take heavy bottomed vessel and pour
the mixture.
3.Add fine sugar and keep stirring. When badam paste starts to thicken, add ghee(clarified butter). Cook in medium flame. Stir constantly.
4.As the halwa bubbles reduce the flame. As it thickens and halwa starts leaving the sides of the pan.
5.Add saffron which gives nice yellow color and flavor. Mix well.
I would like to wish my readers a belated Ganesh Chathurthi (Lord Ganesha's Birthday). Kozhukattai or Modak is probably the most symbolic item for this occasion and I would like to share this recipe with you.
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cup of Idiyappam (Rice) Flour 2 3/4 cup of water 2 tsp of Gingelly oil A pinch of Salt
Filling: 1/2 cup of grated Jaggery 1/2 cup of roasted peanuts 1 tsp Cardamom Powder
Preparation:
1. Grind the jaggery, peanuts and cardamom together in to a coarse mixture. The filling is ready.
2. Boil water and add oil to it. Add the flour to boiling water and mix well stirring continuously. 3. Add salt, mix well and cook with a covered lid for 2 minutes. 4. Remove from the stove and knead well into a soft dough.
5. Divide the dough into small balls and roll each ball to size of puris. 6. Add filling to the puri and seal the edges. You can make any shape.
7. Repeat the procedure for rest of the modaks.
Put these modaks in a steamer/cooker (do not put weight/whistle) and
steam for 10-15 minutes.
Rava Kesari is another sweet which can be made quickly and easily at home. This sweet is commonly made for several festive occasions and there are several versions of this recipe across India with slight variations. You can increase the quantity of the nuts and reduce the amount of sugar and ghee to appeal to the health conscious folks.
Ingredients:
1 cup of rava (Semolina) 1 cup of milk 1 1/4 cup of sugar handful of cashew nuts 10 raisins 3/4 cup of ghee (clarified butter) 1/2 tsp of cardamom powder
Preparation:
1.Add a tbsp of ghee to heavy bottomed vessel and add
nuts and raisins. Roast them till they turn golden brown. Be cautious with the raisins and remove before it turns dark.
2.Transfer them to a plate and add the rava to the ghee. Roast them slightly till nice aroma comes. 3.Add boiled milk (warm milk) and 1 cup of warm water to the rava and keep stirring so that there is no lumps. The addition of milk softens the rava and it melts in the mouth.
4.The amount of ghee can be varied from half cup to 3/4th of a cup. Add the ghee and cook in low flame and keep stirring 5.Add the sugar and allow them to dissolve.
5.Transfer the nuts and cardamom powder. Mix them well. Kesari is ready.
I wish a very Happy Tamil New year to my readers. I made Sakkarai Pongal (sweet pongal) as part of the celebrations. An insider who makes this delicacy in temples shared it and I was surprised pleasantly by the results. The addition of saffron adds additional taste and nice color to the sweet. My mom does it in a different way by adding milk and yellow moong dhal. Believe me this sweet is definitely tempting, melting and crunchy with nuts.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup of raw rice
2 cups of water 1/2 cup of powdered jaggery 8 cashew nuts 8-10 raisins pinch of saffron 1 tbsp of milk 2 tbsp of ghee
Preparation:
1.Soak rice in water for 30 minutes. Add the water to the pressure cooker, as the water starts to boil. 2.Wash the rice and add to the water. Close the lid and pressure cook for about 3 whistles, then simmer for 10 minutes. 3. Melt the jaggery with little water. Stir well till there is no lump formation. Add to the cooked rice. 4.Immerse saffron in a tbsp of warm milk and add to the rice. 5.Heat
the ghee in the pan and add the cashew nuts and raisins. As the
cashew nuts turn golden brown, transfer it to the rice. 6.Mix them well.Yummy and delicious sakkarai pongal is ready.
A very Happy Diwali to all my readers. Diwali is arguably the most celebrated festival in India andpeople enjoy the occasion with sweets, lights and fireworks! This year I tried making badam (Almonds) halwa. I think peeling the almonds is the tricky part as it takes sometime. I did realize that we get peeled almonds from the supermarket. Then making of halwa itself is not difficult.
Ingredients:
1 cup of Badam 1 1/4 cup of sugar 3 tbsp of ghee 1/4 cup of milk few strands of saffron
Preparation:
1.Soak Badam for 4 hours in warm water. Soaksaffron in 1 spoon of milk.
2.Here comes the tricky part, peeling the skin of badam. Grind badam with milk (use as little milk as possible). Take heavy bottomed vessel and pour the mixture.
3.Add fine sugar and keep stirring. When badam paste starts to thicken, add ghee(clarified butter). Cook in medium flame. Stir constantly.
4.As the halwa bubbles reduce the flame. As it thickens and halwa starts leaving the sides of the pan.
5.Add saffron which gives nice yellow color and flavor. Mix well.
3.Add fine sugar and keep stirring. When badam paste starts to thicken, add ghee(clarified butter). Cook in medium flame. Stir constantly.
