RAVA KHOBRA LADOO |SOOJI NARIYAL LADDU for DIWALI

Vow I dont believe that today I am completing my 100th post....Congrats I have completed a century,,,,It was just a month before that I started this site.....& I dont believe I am writing 100th post..So thought of posting some sweet dish recipe....

Rava coconut ladoo is one of the laddoos which I eat...basically i am not a fan of ladoos.But I just cant avoid these ones...

Normally these are prepared during diwali....But my mausis keeps on preparing them occasionally.here I am posting their recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups fine semolina
• 1 3/4 cups shredded fresh coconut
• 2 cups sugar (adjust the amount as per the sweetness of the sugar),
• 1 cup water to make sugar syrup
• 3/4 cup melted ghee (clarified butter),
• cardamoms, almonds,pistas & raisins.

Method

1. Add ghee in a kadhai & roast semolina over medium heat. Keep roasting until its color changes to golden brown and it gives out aroma.Take care not to burn rava
2. Now add coconut to semolina and again roast for approx. 10 minutes. Add cardamom powder to it.
3. Combine sugar and water in a thick bottomed pan. Heat it to achieve a syrup of one string consistency.
4. As the syrup reaches one string consistency, add roasted rava and coconut mixture into it. Keep mixing for a minute or so.
5. Turn the heat off and keep mixing the mixture after every half an hour.
6. In about 2-3 hours, the mixture gets thick. Add nuts and raisins.
7. Divide mixture into equal parts and shape them into balls of desired shape. Ladoos are ready to eat. Store them in an airtight container.

Tips

The cardamom powder should not be added till the end. If it is added before, the laddoos loose their aroma.
If the mixture does not get dry after keeping for about 20mins, you can slightly heat it to get it dry.
If  rava is not roasted properly, the laddoos come out to be very sticky. So fry till it turns slightly reddish.

Adding milk at the end when the laddoo mix becomes too dry should be avoided as much as possible as this decreases the shelf life.

JEERA RICE RECIPE | CUMIN FLAVOURED indian rice- bhat

JEERA RICE / CUMIN RICE is yet another favourite dish of mine.I believe this definetely is the favourite dish of most of us. My favourite combination is jeera rice with dal fry/dal tadka ,masala-papad,pickle & piece of lemon
Jeera Rice (Cumin flavored rice), is a simple and tasty variation on plain boiled rice made with cumin seeds. Jeera rice can be prepared in 2 ways, one by total absorption of water by the rice and other by draining the water from the rice,
Generally cumin seeds are lightly sauted in ghee / white oil and then the soaked basmati rice is cooked with sufficient water till soft or the parboiled rice is tossed with the sauted cumin seeds to bring out the flavour. Jeera rice is generally served with any veg or non-veg gravy / curry side dishes.
One good way to utilise leftover rice is to convert it to jeera rice.

INGREDIENTS

Basmati rice - 1 cup
Ghee /oil - 1 tbsp
Coriander leaves- 1 tbsp chopped
Green  chilli - 2
jeera (cumin)- 1 tsp
salt - as per taste
Water - 2 cup

INGREDIENTS
Basmati rice - 1 cup
Ghee /oil - 1 tbsp
Coriander leaves- 1 tbsp chopped
Green  chilli - 2
jeera (cumin)- 1 tsp
salt - as per taste
Water - 2 cup

METHOD 
1.Wash rice ,drain water & keep aside for 30 minutes
2.Heat ghee in a pan .
3.Add cumin ,gr chilli ,  coriander fry add water twice the amount of measured rice
4.Bring the water to boil add salt
5.Add pre soaked rice bring it to boil till 90% of water is absorbed and reduce the flame to minimal and cook covered for 5 more min and you will have awesome jeera rice

 
1.Wash rice ,drain water & keep aside for 30 minutes
2.Heat ghee in a pan .
3.Add cumin ,gr chilli ,  coriander fry add water twice the amount of measured rice
4.Bring the water to boil add salt
5.Add pre soaked rice bring it to boil till 90% of water is absorbed and reduce the flame to minimal and cook covered for 5 more min and you will have awesome jeera rice

Tip
1 .For quicker version of jeera rice .pre cook rice upto 90%  heat ghee add jeera & saute rice in ghee cover with lid for 5 minutes & serve

SWEET CORN CHAT | MAKAI CHAT (SALAD)

 A refreshing and filling corn chaat, great for snacking on or as a salad.A healthy & tasty option for junk food & quick recipe
Rains and Corn  go hand in hand. Steaming Corn Chat  & CORN PAKODA is another favourite -" Monsoon’ recipe".

INGREDIENTS
1 cup boiled sweet corn
2 medium size - Tomatoes, chopped to small pieces
1/4 cup - Red onion, chopped to small pieces
1/4 cup - Cooked potato, cut to small pieces
1/4 cup - Cucumber, cut to small pieces
1 tbsp - Fresh lime juice
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp tamarind-dates-chutney (optional)
Salt as per taste

POWDERS FOR SEASONING

1 tsp - Chaat masala powder
1/2 tsp - Cumin powder
1/2 tsp - pepper powder
1/2 tsp - Red chili powder

GARNISHING

Yellow sev /shev
1/4 cup - Coriander /Cilantro leaves, finely chopped

METHOD

1.Boil corn in water for 5 minutes.
2.Drain and mix in other ingredients .
3. Season it  with above mentioned .
4. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves & sev. Add sev just before serving so that it remains crisp

METHICHI BHAJI | STIR FRY FENUGREEK (methi) SUKHI SABJI

This is a delicious combination of methi and coconut! Methi leaves are slightly bitter in taste and combining them  with roasted coconut wonderfully balances out all flavors. I disliked methi since childhood but nowadays this has become a weekly favourite in my house.

There  are 2 types of fenugreek available in market one with long leaves & other with small leaves also known as valutli methi (one grown in sand).

This wonder herb is rich in minerals like Potassium, Calcium, and Iron. The leaves have good dietary fiber and are abundant in Vitamin C and Vitamin K.

INGREDIENTS
4 Bunches of Methi
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 tsp  mustard seeds
3 tsp Oil
2 tsp chopped garlic
1 tspn asafoetida(hing)
1 tsp sugar
salt to taste
4 Green chillies chopped
1/2 cup freshly ground coconut

METHOD

1) Separate stems from  methi leaves, wash them  thoroughly in cold water. Add salt to bowl of water & keep the methi leaves  immersed in this  salty water for atleast 15 minutes .this will help to remove the mud from the methi leaves.Drain the methi leaves in a colander to remove excess water.
2) Heat oil in a pan, add  hing,cumin,mustard seeds, garlic and saute till garlic gets nice golden color. Add green chillies.
3) Add methi leaves,sugar, salt, mix, cover and let it get cooked in its own juices.remove lid after 1 minute & stir uncovered till methi shrinks
4) Add  fresh grated coconut, mix, cover and cook for another 2 mts.
5) Methichi bhaji is ready to serve with chapathi /phulkas.

RED CHILLI FLAVOURED COCONUT CHUTNEY DOSA OR IDLI

This is another variety of chutney which can be used with idli /dosas /uttapam /ghavan.

INGREDIENTS

3 tsp wet coconut shredded
2-3  red chillies
1 inch tamarind (imli)
4-5 lasun (garlic)
salt as per taste.


For seasoning:
2 tbsp oil
1/2 tbsp mustard seeds
1/2 tbsp urad dal
1 tsp asafoetida (hing)
2 red chillies
3-4 curry leaves 



METHOD

1.Grind all above ingredients to a coarse paste .


2: Heat oil and add mustard seeds. When they start popping, add urad dal.

3: When dal turns slightly brownish, add curry leaves,red chilles,asafoetida. Fry for a little while. Pour this seasoning over chutney.

4: Mix well and serve with hot dosa or idli.

Tip:

1. You can create variations by adding lemon juice,yoghurt or cumin to above chutney.

GAJAR KA HALWA | DIET CARROT PUDDING | GAJAR CHA HALWA

When we talk about Indian desserts, one name that undoubtedly comes into every person's mind is the traditional Gajar ka halwa prepared on every Indian home in almost all the festivals. On the occasion of Diwali, Gajar ka Halwa is an unavoidable part of the menu. When served hot, the Gajar Ka Halwa tastes wonderful. It is simply the prefect sweet dish to be relished post dinner. Not only its delicious, it’s also fulfilling and nutritious with about proteins,carbohydrates and fat. Making Gajar Ka Halwa is not a very difficult task in terms of process; it requires a little more time and patience than any other halwa. Even if you are in love with this mouth watering dish, here is the recipe…

 

 

 

INGREDIENTS
1 kg Carrots
1 litre Milk
2 tsp milkpowder
1 teaspoon Cardamom seeds
3/4 cup Water
3 tablespoons Ghee
2 tablespoons Raisins
2 tablespoons Almonds
2 tablespoons Pistachios
450 grams Sugar

METHOD
1.Wash and grate the carrots. Soak the raisins in water for 30 minutes. Blanch and shred the nuts.
2.Heat ghee in a pan & add grated carrots & saute it for 2-3 minutes
3.Add the milk. Cook on a low flame for 1 hour stirring occasionally.
4.Add sugar,milkpowder, mix well and cook till the sugar has dissolved and all the milk has been absorbed.
5.Add ghee and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add the slightly crushed cardamoms and the raisins.
6.Mix well. Remove from heat and arrange in a serving dish. Garnish with almonds and pistachios.
7. Serve cold, hot or at room temperature.

TIP
serve gajar ka halwa with vanilla icecream

GULAB JAMUN RECIPE | GULAB JAM USING MTR MIX

Gulab Jamun
Gulab Jamun is my favorite dessert since my childhood. My mom used to make gulab jamuns on my birthday.  Diwali seems imperfect without umpteen varieties of sweet and scrumptious dishes. Though there are lots of sweet dishes that you can prepare on Diwali, the lip-smacking Gulab Jamun has no substitute. Liked by almost everybody, there are sweet softballs with delightful aroma and luscious taste. Prepared from milk powder, flour and milk, this is one sweet dish that is easy to prepare, however takes a little more time compared to other desserts as it requires to be dipped in sugar syrup for whole night.

INGREDIENTS:
MTR Gulab Jamun mix- 1 pkt
Sugar – 6 cups
Cardamon powder (Elachi powder) – 2 tsp
Saffron strands (Kesar) – ¼  tsp
Goldan raisins (kismis) – 1/2 cup
Milk- as required for making gulab jamuns
Water – 6 cups [for syrup]

METHOD:
1. In a bowl, gradually add milk little by little to the gulabjam mix. Mix well.
2. Gently knead the mixture to make it an even dough.
3. In another large vessel, take 6 cups of water and add 6 cups of sugar. Also add saffron and cardamom powder to it. Bring
it to a boil. Mix it well and boil again.
4. Take the dough and divide it into small 50 parts. Take golden raisin and put one raisin in the center of each portion.
Roll each portion into a smooth ball. Make all the balls and keep aside.
5. In a pan, heat cooking oil for frying the gulab jamuns. Deep fry the gulab jamuns on medium high heat. It should take
approx 7-8 minutes to become golden brown. If it happens before that, oil is too hot and jamuns won’t be able to cook all
the way through. If it takes more time than 7-8 minutes, the oil is not hot enough.
6.Drain all the fried gulab jamuns on a kitchen towel. Let it sit for 4-5 minutes and then add all jamuns to the sugar
syrup. Let them completely soak for couple of hours.
7.Gulab jamuns are ready to eat.

TIP
Enjoy Gulab jamums hot or chilled. I prefer them hot with chilled ice-cream on the top.