CabbageVadas in Sourcream Gravy

Cabbage vada

Cabbage grated – 2 cups
Cornflour – 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Oil for frying

Cut the cabbage and pulse them in the mixie. It will come to a grated form. Add the corn flour and salt .
Heat oil in a pan. Make small vada and fry it till golden brown.

Sour cream Gravy

Sour cream – 1 cup
Water - 1 cup
Greenchillies -2
Ginger –a small piece
Basen – 1 tbsp
Sauf -1 tsp
Turmeric pdr – 1/4tspalt to taste

Mix all ingredients and Pulse 2-3 times it in the mixie.

Seasoning

Oil – 1 tsp
Onion -1small
Cumin seeds -1 tsp
Asafoetida –a pinch
Curry leaf – 4-5 nos

Cut the onion finely.
In a pan add 1 tsp oil. Add cumin seeds and curry leaf. Then add the onion and fry it. Add asafoetida. When the onion turn golden brown add the gravy mixture to it. Let it boil till the raw smell of Basen goes(15mnts) in medium flame. Stir in between. Add little water if it thickens. Also add salt to taste.
Just before serving add the vadas

Serve it hot with pulao or parathas.

SnakeGourd(Padavalaga)Curry

Ingredients

Snake gourd – 1
Grated coconut -1/2 cup
Onion – 1
Salt to taste
Turmeric pdr – ¼ tsp

Seasoning

Oil – 1 tsp
Mustard seeds -1/2 tsp
Channadal – 1 tsp
Urad dal – 1 tsp
Redchilli – 2

Method

1. Cut the snakegourd. Boil water. Add little salt. Add the cut snake gourd . When it starts to soften Drain it.
2. In a pan fry the grated coconut with out adding oil till it turns golden brown. Keep it aside.
   Cut onion finely.
3. In the same pan add 1 tsp oil, mustard seeds, channadal, uraddal and red chilli. When it pops, Add the finely cut onion and fry it. When it turns light brown add the snake gourd, little turmeric pdr .
4. Sprinkle the fried coconut and mix well.
   

This goes nice with rice and rasam.

Egg Curry

This is the first time I am making egg curry at home. Some how i am not very fond of Egg, but my kids and husband like them a lot. More over in our house back in India egg is also considered nonveg. But coming out from India most of us tend to eat everything especially egg is supposed to be good protien for kids. When ever my husband accompanies me to the Indian store he would ask me to buy the Parampara masal pdr for egg gravy. So 2 weeks back when I went shopping i got some . We were having some firend come over too. But when time came to put the masal pdr I instead added sambar pdr. It tasted good. I exchanged my unopened masala when i went to the store next time.

Ingredients

Eggs – 6
Onion – 2 medium
Tomato – 2 medium
Sauf – 1 tsp
Garlic – 3-4 cloves
Grated coconut – ¼ cup
Sambar pdr -1 tsp
Redchilli – 2
Amchur pdr – ¼ tsp
Salt to taste

Method

Boil the eggs. Peel the eggs. Give small cuts with a knife on the eggs.
In a pan add 1 tsp oil. Cut 1 onion and fry it. Add sauf, garlic and 1 tomato.
Grind the coconut well adding little water. Then pulse them adding redchilli and fried ingredients.
Cut the 2^nd onion and tomato into small pieces.
In a pan add 3 tsp oil fry the onions. Then add the tomatoes and fry till it becomes soft. Add 1 tsp sambar pdr and amchur pdr. Add the pulse mixture . Add salt to taste and little water and keep it closed and cook it for 8-10 mnts.
Add the eggs in the end.

Pretty Flowers

This is my first cake made from scratch. I usually bake cake with the ready made cake mix you get in the super market. I would also buy the frosting and just pipe it which ever way I want. But then I came across Spicyana where Archanas cakes are reaalllllyyyyyyyyyyy beautiful. I went to her blog everyday for one week especially her cakes and would stare at the photos. I started to get inspired and thought to try it myself. So last weekend I went to Micheals and did some shopping for the decoration. Got a book called 'Joy of Baking' by Barbara Grunes from the local library. On Saturday after lunch kids and hubby went to take a nap and I staterd my experiment. The cake came out really good. I cut the cake into half and filled some apricot preserves covered it with other layer of cake. With rolled fondant made the flowers when the cake was baking. Covered the cake with icing.Then a layer of white fondant and fixed all the flowers. It took straight 3 1/2 hrs to do the cake and decoration. But it was fun. My older one is so fond of cakes that as soon as he saw it he started singing happy b'day. So I thought okay why not lets celebrate with cake and milk.




Walnut Cake
Ingredients

Butter – ¼ cup
Sugar – ¾ cup
Vanilla – 1 tsp
Eggs -3
Flour – 2 cups
Cornstarch – 4 tbsp
Baking pdr – 2 tsp
Walnuts – 1 cup chopped

Method

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. and grease a round cake pan.
2. Cream the butter until fluffy. Add sugar and mix well. Add vanilla essence.
3. Add 1 egg at a time, beating well with a beater.
   
4. Sift the flour, sprinkle it and beat it again.
   
5. Add cornstartch and blend well.
6. Add the walnut in the end and mix it well.
   
7. Pour it into the greased cake pan. Always grease only the bottom. If you grease the sides the cake will not rise very well. Also place a parchment paper at the bottom of the pan so that the cake doesnot burn in the bottom.
8. Bake for 35-40mnts.

Decorate the cake to your choice.

Gobi Manchurian

This is the first time I am making gobi manchurian. In my early days of marriage when I had just started to cook my husband's neice (now mine too) used to ask me, Aunty can you make gobi manchurian?It was very popular in resturants at that time. But at that time I was not very much exposed to daily cooking, better not to talk about ingredients like soy sauce. So I used to tell her when we go out for dinner we will buy you. After that we left india and it was long forgotten. The other day I was browsing and suddenly came across this recipe for gobi manchurian and tried it. It came out pretty well. But today I don't know whether my neice like it, kids grow up and there taste buds change too. But next time when I visit India she is surely going to get home made manchurian.


Ingredients

Cauliflower – 1
Cornflour enough to make batter
Soy Sauce – ¼ cup
Green chillies – 2
Garlic – 3-4 cloves
Ginger- small piece
Jaggery – small piece
Oil for deep frying
1 cup water for the gravy
Red onions and green onion - cut into small pieces to garnish

Method

Fried florets:

Cut the cauliflower into medium sized florets.
Make batter with corn flour and water. Add a pinch of salt . Dip the cauliflower florets . Deep fry it in oil. When it turn brown take it out and put it on tissue paper.

For the sauce:

Pulse ginger, garlic and green chillies in the mixie.

In a pan, add 2 tsp oil add the ggg paste and saute.
Add water and a small piece of jaggery to it. Then add the soysauce. It will slowly start to get thicken.It will turn dark brown in colour.
Add the remaining corn batter(3-4tsp) to this. If not make some by mixing cornflour and water. Boil it in medium flame and keep stirring. Add little salt to your taste.

Before serving heat the gravy and add the fried cauliflower to it. Garnish it with red and green onions.

Naan

Ingredients

All purpose flour – 4 cup
Yeast – 1 packet(active dry yeast)
Milk – 1/2 cup
Yogurt – ½ cup
Water – ½ cup
Sugar – 1 tsp
Salt – 1 tsp
Butter – 4 tbsp

Method

1. Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm milk. Keep it for 10mnts till bubbles appear.
2. Sift the flour. Add butter, salt and mix it well.Then add the yogurt.
3. Now pour the yeast mixture . Add necessary water as you mix into a dough.
4. Put it into a large bowl. Keep it closed with a plastic wrap for 4-5 hrs. The dough will double.
5. Just before making take it out and make it into tennis ball size. At this point donot knead the dough too much.
6. Add flour on the surface and make it into 8inch rounds.
7. Take a deep frying pan. Donot use flat ones. Let the heat be medium medium high.
8. Brush water on one side of the naan and put that side down into the pan.
9. Cover the pan with a plate.After 2-3 mnts open the cover.
10. You can see that it will start to bulge on the upper side and cooked in the bottom.
    With a pakkad put the uncooked side directly to the flame. And cook it rotatating it.

You can see that one side is smoothly done and the other side has small bulges here and there with flame marks. Cut into half and serve it with any gravy.

My Deep Frying Pan:

Almond Cookies

Ingredients

Butter – 1 cup(room temperature)
Sugar - 1cup
Vanilla 0r rose essence – 1 tsp
Salt – 1/4 tsp
Almonds(skin removed)- ½ cup
All purpose flour – 2 ½ cups

Method

1. Powder the almonds in the mix .
2. Mash the butter in a large bowl till it is smooth and fluffy with an electric mixer.
3. Sprinkle sugar and mix. Add the vanilla or rose essence and salt.
4. Add the almond pdr and mix it.
5. Then add the flour little by little and knead it. The cookie dough is ready.
6. You can use a cookie press for different shapes or make thin rounds with hand.
7. Preheat the even to 375 degrees.
8. Press cookies onto a nonstick cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 mnts in the middle rack.

Let it cool and then store it in a container. This will make around 50 cookies.

Golden Jublee

This is a sweet recipe from the Mallika batdinath's book. The preparation is mostly like Mysorepak with a slight difference of coconut and coconut milk instead of water.
One can also use fresh grated coconut instead of decicated coconut. The colour comes to a golden shade hence the name Golden Jublee.

Ingredients

Bengal gram dal – ½ cup
Decicated coconut - ½ cup
Coconut milk – ½ cup
Sugar – 1 ¼ cup
Ghee – 1 cup
Cardamom pdr – a pinch
Cashenuts(broken) – a handful

Method

Brush some ghee on a plate and keep aside.

Fry a hand full of cashwenut and spread it on the buttered plate.

In a deep wide pan add 1 tbsp ghee and fry the Bengal gram dal lightly till the raw small goes. Let it cool. Then pulse in in the mixie along with the decicated coconut.

In the same pan add coconut milk and sugar. When the sugar reaches 1 string consistency add the bengalgramdal-coconut mixture to it little by little. See that no lumps are formed. So stir continuously.

When it is cooked and starts to become thick add the ghee little by little till it absorbs . Then it will start forming froth and more thick and you can see that little ghee is also given out. At this point turn the heat of and pour it into the plate.

Spread it evenly with a spoon.

When it is still warm brush ghee on a knife and cut it into your desired shape.

Let it cool down and you can turn the plate upside down on parchment paper or news paper. Store it a container.

Crisp Potato Rounds

Ingredients

Potatos – 2
Bread crumbs(seasoned )– 1 cup
salt
Oil for deep frying

Method

1. Pressure cook the potatoes adding salt.
2. Peel and mash it well.
3. Add the bread crumbs and and mix well.
4. Make it into small balls. Prick the center with a toothpick.
5. Deep fry in hot oil.

Vegetable Biriyani

Biriyani originated in Persia. Biriyani is a preparation which includes spices, basmati rice, ghee, vegetables. Nonvegetarians use meat in the biriyani , but i have substituted it with potatorounds. This goes very nice with a simple raita or any gravy.

Ingredients

Onion -1 medium
Tomato – 1 medium
Ginger – 1 medium piece
Garlic – 5-6 cloves
Biriyani masala pdr – 1 tsp
pepper – 1 tsp
red chillipdr - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Cardamom pod – 2
Cloves -5-6nos
cinnamonstick - small piece
Bay leaf
Sour cream – 1 tbsp
turmeic pdr - 1/4 tsp
coriandercumin pdr - 1 tsp
Cashew,kismis – 1 handful
Ghee – 6 tsp
Corinderleaves
Vegetables – onion,capsicum,peas, carrots,cauliflower – ½ cup each(diced)
Basmati rice – 2 cups

Method

1. In a pan add 3 tsp ghee. Fry the basmati rice and keep it aside. This will give a nutty flavour.
2. In the same pan add 1 tsp ghee and fry the onions, garlic, cinnamon stick and tomatoes. Grind this along with ginger , black pepper, cloves, cardamom pods, biriyani masal pdr and sour cream.
3. Add the ground mixture, coriander cumin pdr, red chillipdr and turmeric pdr to the basmati rice. Add salt to taste and 2 tsp ghee. Cook it adding water if necessary. Do not over cook it. When the Biriyani is done the rice should not stick together but each grain should be seperate.
4. Cut all the vegetables and fry it in 1 tsp ghee along with bay leaf,cashew and kismis. When the rice is done mix the fried vegetables and nut to it.

Just before serving add the fried potato rounds and Garnish it with coriander leaves.

For Raita

Finely cut 1 Onion,1 tomato, 1/2 cucumber. Grated 1 carrot. Beat 2 cups yogurt lightly. Add the vegetables to the yogurt. Add a pinch of asafoetida, a pinch redchillipdr and salt to taste. Garnish it with coriander leaves.

Masal Dosa

Ingredients

Dosa Batter

For masal

Potatoes -2
Onion – 1
Turmeric pdr –little
Salt to taste
Asafetida – a pinch
Green chillies -1
Ginger – small piece

For seasoning

Oil -1 tsp
Mustard seeds,cumin seeds,Channa dal,urad dal – ½ tsp each
Curry leaves – 3-4 nos

Method

Pressure cook the potatoes adding salt. Peel the skin. Mash it.

Add 1 tsp oil to a pan. Add the mustard seeds,cumin seeds,urad dal,channadal. When it pops add asafetida,curry leaves and onions. Fry them till light brown. Add mashed potatos and turmeric pdr and mix well. Add salt if necessary. The Masal should be thick.

Take a ladle of dosa batter and spread it on the pan. Pour ¼ tsp ghee instead of oil.
When it is cooked one side. Turn it and just cook for 2 seconds and turn again.
Place the masal in the middle and close both sides.

You can eat it with sambar or chutney.

Pasta in Creamy White Sauce

I have used Cavatappi pasta for this particular recipe. Cavatappi means corkscrew in italian. This is a s- shaped spiral pasta which goes well with any pasta sauce.

Ingredients

Cavatappi pasta - 1/2 packet

For creamy sauce

Heavy cream – 1 cup
Maida – 1 tsp
Butter – 1 tbsp
Milk – ½ cup
Parmesan cheese – 1cup(grated)
Onion – 1
Broccoli (small florets) – 1 cup
Garlic – 3-4 cloves
Green chillies – 2
Pepper pdr – ½ tsp
Salt to taste
Italian herbs -1/4 tsp

Method

1. Cut the onion length wise. Pulse the garlic and green chillies in the mixie.
2. Wash the broccoli and keep it aside.
3. In a pan add the butter. When it melts, fry the finely cut onions, then garlic and greenchillies.
   
4. When it turns light brown add the brocolli florets and fry it.
   
5. Then add the maida and fry it. Add milk . As it boils it will start to thicken.
6. Pour heavy cream and parmasan cheese at this point and boil it for 3-4mnts more. Off the heat add salt, pepper and italian herbs and mix it.

Make the pasta as per directions on its packing.

Just before serving put the pasta in a bowl. Then pour the hot creamy sauce over it. If you need more spice shake pepper pdr on top.

Cauliflower Curry

Ingredients

Cauliflower – 1
Peas(frozen) – ½ cup
Onion – 1
Tomato – 2 medium
Coriander cumin pdr – 1 tsp
Ginger- small piece
Garlic -2 clove
Green chillies -2
Amchur pdr – ¼ tsp
Coriander leaves for garnish

Method

1. Cut the cauliflower into florets. Wash it well.
2. Boil water. off the heat. Add some salt. Put the cauliflower and let it stand for 8-10 mnts. Drain the water.
3. Cut the onions and tomatoes finely. Grind ginger, garlic and green chillies.
4. In a pan add1 tsp ghee. Add coriander cumin pdr. Add the ground g3 paste and fry it.
5. Add onions and fry it till light brown. Add the tomatoes. Fry it nicely .
6. Add the amchur pdr, cauliflower and peas to it. Add salt and little water.
7. Keep it closed and cook it for 8-10 mnts in medium flame.
8. Garnish it with coriander leaves.

Crispy Tortilla Sandwich

Ingredients

Tortillas – 2(medium)
Mozerella cheese – ¼ cup
Vegetables –olives,capsicum,broccoli
Pasta sauce – 2 tbsp
Paprika – to your spicy taste
olive oil to coat

Method

1. Coat a baking tray lightly with olive oil.
2. Take 1 tortilla and place over a baking tray.
3. Spread tomato sauce on the tortilla.
4. Cut the vegetables finely and spread them on the tomato sauce.
5. Sprinkle paprika.
6. Sprinkle the cheese on top.
7. Cover with the 2^nd tortilla.
8. Bake it in the oven for 7-8 mnts at 400 degree.
9. When you take it out the tortilla would have turned crispy and the cheese would have melted.

Cut into triangles. This is a nice evening snack or an appetizer.

PanCakes

Pancakes with maple syrup is a classic American breakfast. We get all sorts of ready made mix in the supermarkets. But I tried to make it from the scratch. One of the mom's at my son's school shared her recipe. I tried and it came out really good.

Ingredients

Flour-2 cups
Sugar- 2 tablespoons
Baking powder- 2 teaspoons
Salt to taste
Butter- 4 tablespoons (2 ounces), melted
Eggs- 2
Milk - 2 cups
Water

Method

1. Melt the butter and set aside.
2. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Mix well with a whisk.
3. Beat the egg in another bowl with a whisk lightly. Gradually add melted butter, whisking all the while. Stir in milk slowly. Pour this mixture onto the other mixed ingredients. Mix them together with a spatula gently . Add little water. Batter should not be too thick, but like a creamy soup.
4. Let it stand for 15-20 mnts. The batter might get thick.
5. Heat a dosa pan. On medium flame pour 2 tbsp batter . Spread it with the spoon to your desired thickness(1/8 inch). When the lower side is brown (10-15secs)turn and cook the other side.

Eat it with butter,honey or maple syrup.

Nombu Adai(Sweet and Salt)

I was searching recipes of Thiruvathira kali . Though I found it at AmmuPattis Thought I also came across recipe for Nonbu adai. This is one of my favourite festival food. This is made once a year on the day of Nonbu which usually falls on the day month of panguni and masi overlaps.
The story is that Savithri fought Yama the god of death and won the life of her husband Satyavan by praying. So on the day of Nombu at a specific time married ladies and young girls tie yellow thread(manjal chardu) and pray for the long life of their husbands and a good husband to be.
Nonbu Adai is made and offered as neivedyam .
Though nonbu comes next year I prepared nonbu adai for an evening Tiffin during the weekend. I used the same recipe on Ammupattis thoughts.

But I am writing it again
To make rice flour - You can soak 2 cups rice in water for 2 hrs. Then spread it on a towel to dry for 4-5 hrs. Powder it in the mixie. Sift it . You can pre make this rice flour and put it in a tight container.

Sweet Nonbu Adai

Ingredients:

rice flour- 1 cup
water - 1 1/2 cup
Elaichi powder - 1/4 tsp
finely chopped fresh coconut - 1/2 cup
jaggery - 1 cup
boiled black eyed beans (Also known as chavali, lobiya or karamani) - 1/4 cup

Method

1. Roast rice flour for 5-10 min. Do not let it change color.
2. Bring the water to a boil in a pan and add the jaggery
3. Add elaichi powder and let the liquid come to a boil
4. Add the boiled beans and coconut and mash it well with a wooden spatula.
5. Turn the heat down and slowly add the roasted rice flour and mix it into the liquid as smoothly as possible without letting it form any lumps and take it off the heat once you have gathered the whole mixture together. The mixture should be of the consistency of chappati dough probably a little harder.
6. Once the dough cools down, make them into small balls. Grease idli plates with ghee or oil Press the balls into medium thin round shape. Make a small hole in the middle. Steam for 7-10mins.
7. Serve hot with unsalted butter.

Salty Nonbu Adai

Ingredients:

rice flour - 1 cup
water - 1 1/2 cup
Green chillie finely chopped (1-2)
finely chopped fresh coconut - 1/2 cup
Curry leaves chopped (4-5)
boiled black eyed beans (Also known as chavali, lobiya or karamani) - 1/4 cup
Asafoetida (hing) a pinch
Salt to taste
oil - 1 tbs
Mustard seeds-1 tsp


Method

1. Roast rice flour for 5-10 min. Do not let it change color.
2. In a pan heat the oil and add mustard seeds. When they have burst open, add chillies and curry leaves and fry them for 1 min. Then add the water and let it boil.
3. Add the hing and salt to the boiling water
4. Add the boiled beans and coconut
5. Turn the heat down and slowly add the roasted rice flour and mix it into the liquid as smoothly as possible without letting it form any lumps and take it off the heat once you have gathered the whole mixture together. The mixture should be of the consistency of chappati dough probably a little harder.
6. Once the dough cools down, make them into small balls . Grease idli plates with ghee or oil press the small balls into medium thin rounds.Make a small hole in the center. Steam for 7-10mins.
7. Serve hot with unsalted butter.
   

Rice Kozhakkattai

Ingredients
Raw rice – 2 cups
Water – 1 ½ cup
Salt to taste
Asafetida- apinch
Oil – 1 tsp

Seasoning

Oil,musturd seeds, channa dal, urad dal- 1tsp each
red Chilli -2
Curry leaves - 4-5nos.

Method

Soak the rice for 2 hrs. drain it and let it dry for 4 hrs. grind it into rava consistency. Lightly fry it in a pan and keep it aside.

In a pan add 1 tsp oil. Add mustard seeds,channa dal, urad dal ,redchilli and curry leaves.When mustard seeds pop add water. Add salt and asafoetida. When the water boils add the ground rice . Stir continuously it will start to thicken. Add 1 tsp oil and mix well. Off the heat and let it sit for 10 mnts. Make it into oval balls. Keep it on oil coated idli plate and steam it for 10 mnts.

Serve it hot with sambar or chutney.

Snake Gourd Molakoottal with Thayir Pachadi

Snakegourd also known as Padavalanga is a common vegetable seen in Kerala. It is a long fruit and a climber so the name snake gourd. We usually diccard the inner seeds and other flesh and use the outer ski for curries. Last weekend I made Molakoottal and Thayir Pachadi which is a very good combination. This molakoottal is a little different since we fry the masala before grinding. Also the moongdal is lightly fried before cooking.



Molakoottal

Ingredients

Snake gourd – 1
Moongdal -1/2 cup
Coconut (grated) – ½ cup
Urad dal – 1 tsp
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Redchilli -2
Turmeric pdr –a pinch
Salt to taste
Oil -1 tsp

Seasoning

Oil – 1tsp
Mustard seeds -1 tsp
Curry leaves – 4-5 nos

Method

Cut the snake gourd to small pieces. Cook it adding salt and tuemeric pdr.
Fry the moongdal for 2 mnts.Pressure cook the moong dal adding little turmeric pdr.
In a pan add 1 tsp oil. When it is hot add the urad dal, cumin seeds and red chilli. When the urad dal starts to turn light brown turn the heat off.
Grind the above with coconut.
Mix the ground coconut to the dal and vegetables. Let it cook till bubbles starts to come.
Season it with mustard and curry leaves

Thayir Pachadi

Ingredients

cucumber - 1/2 cup finely diced
Tomato – ½ cup finely diced
Yogurt – 1 cup
Sour cream – 1 tbsp
Green chillies -2
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Coconut(grated) – ¼ cup
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves

Season

Oil -1 tsp, Mustard seeds – ½ tsp , Asafetida – pinch

Method

Grind coconut, green chillis and mustard seeds in to a fine paste adding sourcream and very little water. Gently beat the yogurt. Add the cucumbers, tomatos and ground mixture to the lightly beaten yogurt. Add salt to taste. Add ½ tsp oil in a pan.When the mustard seeds pop add a pinch of asafoetida and Season the pachadi. Garnish it with coriander leaves.

Triple Payaru Curry

Ingredients

Green urad dal – ¾ cup
Karamani – ½ cup
Black urad dal – ¼ cup
Onion – 2 medium
Tomato -1
Garlic – 2 cloves
Coriander cumin pdr – 1 tsp
Green chillies – 2
Oil – 2 tsp

Method

1. Pressure cook the dals adding little salt separately. Do not over cook it since it will be pressure cooked again at the end. Drain and keep it aside.
2. Cut the onions and tomatoes finely.
3. In the same cooker you cooked the dal add 2 tsp oil. Add coriander cumin pdr and cut green chillies.
   
4. Then add onions and fry till golden brown.Add garlic and then the tomatoes. Fry nicely . Add the cooked dals and some water. Add salt if necessary.
   
5. Pressure cook it till 2 whistles come.

Garnish it with coriander leaves.

Paneer in Yogurt Gravy

Paneer - 2 cups(cut into cubes)
Onion - 1
garlic -3 cloves
ginger - small piece
tomato - 1
plain yogurt - 1 cup
badam - 4-5
milk - 1/4 cup
maida -1 tsp
red chillipdr to taste
salt to taste
masala pdr - 1 tsp(Parampara)
oil/ ghee

Method

1. Add 2 tsp oil in a pan and add the paneer cubes. Fry it till all sides turn light brown. Keep it aside.
2. Cut onion , garlic and fry it along with badam in the same pan.
3. Grind it with tomatoes, ginger and yogurt.
4. In the pan add 1 tsp ghee . Put 1 tsp maida let it fry for few seconds and add the milk. It will start to thicken.
5. Add the ground mixture, red chilli pdr, salt and masala pdr. Let it cook well in low flame for 8-10 mnts. Stir it every now and then.
6. Remove it from the heat. Add the fried paneer cubes and keep it closed.

Aloo Paratha

For Filling
Potato - 3
musturd seeds, cumin seeds,oil - 1 tsp each
redchilli pdr - 1/4 tsp
asafoetida - a pinch
salt to taste

Pressure cook the potato adding salt. mash them well. In apan add oil. Add musturd seeds, cumin seeds, red chillipdr, asafoetida. When it pops add the potato and mix well. When it cools down make small balls of the potatoes.

For Dough
Wheat flour - 3 cups
water - enought to knead
salt - 2 pinches

Mix salt to the flour. Add warm water and knead well and keep it closed . Let it sit for an hour.

To make Paratha
Ghee/oil
extra flour


Make lemon sized balls of the dough. Divide it into small balls and spread it with roller pin into 2 small circles.
Put the potato over one and close it with the other. Close the sides and make it into big circles using roller.

Use extra flour to coat on both sides so that it does not stick on the working area. Repeat this process with rest of the dough and potatoes.
Heat a tawa. Put the paratha and spread ghee or oil. Turn and do it to the other side and let it cook till light brown on both sides.
Eat it with kadi or any other gravy.

Badam cake

Badam – 1 cup
Sugar – 11/2 cup
Ghee – 11/2 cup

Method

Soak Badam in warm water.After ten minutes peel the brown skin. Grind it into smooth paste.
Add ¼ cup water in a wide mouth pan.
Add sugar to it when the sugar syrup reaches 1 string consistency add the ground bada to it.Add 2 tsp ghee also. Go on stir the mixture.
When all the water evaporates the mixture starts to curl together and will start to become thick.At this point add ghee slowly stirring continuously.
When it is curled really well the ghee starts to come on the top .
At this point pour it on a ghee coated plate.
When it become luke warm put cuts on it with a ghee coated knife and it cool.
When it is completely cooled turn the plate on to paper and badam pieces come out.

Kesari

suji rawa - 2 cups
sugar - 11/2 cup
ghee - 1 1/2 cup
cardamom
cashew and kismis
water - 3 cups

Method

Boil 3 cups of water and keep it over heat.
In medium flame fry 2 cups suji rawa in a pan adding 1 tsp ghee when the rawa is hot add yellow/orange food color.
Then add the boiling water and stir it continuously so that lumps do not form.
When the rawa softens add 11/2 cup sugar to it. It will become a little liquid. Let it cook. Stir continuously.
When it starts to thicken add 1- 1 1/2 cup ghee and cardamom pdr.
Fry some cashew nuts and kismis and mix it in the end.

Semiya Payasam

Ingredients

Semiya – 1 cup
Milk – 4 cups
Sugar – 11/2 cup
Ghee -1tsp
Rose essence – a drop
Cashew and kismis

Method
Fry the semiya in ½ tsp ghee to light brown.
Pressure cook the milk. When 2 whistles come turn the heat to sim and let the milk cook for 20mnts.
Take out the milk add semiya and cook it again on medium heat when the semiya is cooked add sugar and cook it for another 10 mnts.
Fry cashew and kismis in add it to the payasam .
When the payasam warms add a drop of rose essence.