Bombay Halwa/Maida Halwa

Today is a special day for me,its been100 days since I started blogging.In these 100 days I gained lot of knowledge in blogging and come across so many amazing blogs.I got more than 100 friends who are following my blog and received 4 awards.I like to convey my heartfelt thanks to all my talented and wonderful fellow bloggers,friends who are supporting  me with their valuable comments to achieve this.To celebrate this special day I like to share a delicious and special sweet with all my friends.
Halwa is one of my favorite and hubby's too,this is a very famous sweet in my home town,usually halwa is made of whole wheat but this one is with maida and ghee.I make this sweet for special occasions and here is the recipe for the mouth watering recipe...

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
All purpose flour	1cup
Sugar	21/2cups
Ghee	11/2cups
Cardamom powder	1/2tsp
Food color(red or orange)	1/8tsp
Cashews(broken)	1/4cup
Almonds(broken)	1/4cup
Salt	a pinch
Corn flour(optional)	1tbs

Method  


                              Mix maida,corn flour,salt and food color with 2-21/2 cups of water(like buttermilk),strain it and set aside.Keep a heavy bottom wide mouth pan on the stove top with half cup of water,dissolve the sugar and let it boil till it reaches single string consistency.
Once the sugar syrup reaches the consistency add in the maida mixture and stir it vigorously till it cooks.
Now slowly add ghee with intervals and stir it continuously till the mix mixture leaves the sides.Add the cardamom powder and turn off the stove.Fry the cashews and almonds in a tsp of ghee and add half amount of nuts to the halwa.
Grease a tray with ghee and sprinkle the remaining nuts on the tray.Now pour the mixture on the tray and allow it to cool.
Cut into desired shape with the knife or it can be served as such with a ladle.

Enjoy......

• To get a perfect halwa the amount ghee is so important so don't compromise on that.
• Using corn flour with the maida is optional but it gives a glossy texture to the halwa.
• The amount sugar can be increased or decreased according ti your taste buds.

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Whole Wheat Almond Cookies

My son loves cookies a lot especially home made and likes to take for his snack along with some fresh fruits. So I always bake some cookies and store it,to make it healthier I use wheat flour and sometimes oats.I learned this recipe from my close friend  M who does lots of baking experiment and original recipe is with all purpose flour and semolina.

This is an easy to make cookie with lesser number of ingredients with a flavor of cardamom.These cookies are addictive,simple and perfect with a cup of tea.Here is the recipe for a delicious,eggless mouth melt cookies with whole wheat flour and almonds.

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Wheat flour	1cup
Sugar	1/3cup
Butter(room temperature)	1/2cup
Almond(Powdered)	1/4cup
Cardamom powder	1/2tsp
Baking powder	1/2tsp
Salt	1/2tsp

Method

                                      Beat the butter and sugar in a bowl with a hand blender until soft & fluffy.Add in the flour,almond powder,baking powder salt and the cardamom powder,mix it well till everything gets blend. Form a dough by gently kneading with hands to a soft dough.
Divide the dough into equal portions of small balls,flatten slightly each ball by pressing gently with thumb or with a fork.Keep in the greased baking tray with enough space between each cookie.Bake in the preheated oven for 18-25minutes or until nice golden color(for me it took 22 mins).
Store it in a an air tight container once its cool down completely.

Enjoy........

• Vanilla extract can also be added for extra flavor.
• Here,I have powdered the whole almonds in the blender to a fine powder which can be substituted with cashews or pistachios.
• If the dough is crumbly add couple of tbs of milk to make it soft.

Sending this to Bake Fest  started by Vardhini and hosting by Sangeetha and Srivalli's Snack Mela,
Kirthi's Serve It Series,Julie's Christmas delicacy event.
Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Mor Kuzhambhu/Spiced Buttermilk Gravy with Masala Vadas

Mor Kuzhambhu is a South Indian delicacy which is made out of sour buttermilk and other spices,can be  mixed with rice.This kuzhambhu can be made with veggies such as okra,white pumkin or with masala vadas, Urad dhal vadas which is one my family's favorite.Today I made this one with masala vadas and it is a easy way to use the leftover curd....

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Sour buttermilk	2cups
Onion(thinly sliced)	1no.
Red chilly	3nos.
Mustard seeds	1tsp
Urad dhal	1tsp
Asafoetida	a pinch
Turmeric powder	1/2tsp
Curry leaves	1 sprig
Coriander leaves	for garnish
Salt	a pinch
Oil	1tbs

To grind

Ingredient	Quantity
Coconut	4tbs
Green chilly	6-7nos.
Ginger	1 inch piece
Garlic	2 flakes
Black pepper	1/2tsp
Rice flour	2tsp
Roasted gram dhal	2tsp

To make Vadas

Ingredient	Quantity
Channa dhal	1cup
Red chilly	6-7nos.
Ginger	1 inch piece
Garlic	2 flakes
Fennel seeds	1tsp
Onion(chopped)	1cup
Curry leaves	1 sprig
Coriander leaves	as needed
Salt	to taste
Oil	for frying

Method

For the kuzhambhu

                            Grind the ingredients given "to grind" to a fine paste and heat a pan with oil, crackle the mustard seeds and urad dhal,add in asafoetida and red chillies.Saute the onions till transparent and add the ground paste.Now add in turmeric powder a cup of water and let it cook till the raw smell goes off.
Once its done add the buttermilk and boil it for one boil,turn off the stove.Finally add the coriander leaves.The kulambhu is ready.

For vadas
                 Grind the channa dhal,red chillies,ginger,garlic and fennel seeds to a coarse batter by sprinkling little water as needed.Mix in chopped onions,curry leaves and coriander leaves.
Take a small lemon sized, flatten it  and fry it in the oil.The vadas are ready.Add the fried vadas directly to the mor kulambhu and let it soak for atleast an hour.
Serve it with piping hot rice.

Enjoy......

• After the vada is soaked the kulambhu becomes thick so adjust the consistency while adding the water and do not add too many vadas.For the above measurement I added 12 vadas.
• Instead of rice flour and roasted gram dhal a tbs of soaked raw rice and toor dhal can be used(originally).
• While using the vegetables cook or saute it separately and add it while boiling.
• Do not boil the kulambhu for a long time after adding the buttermilk,otherwise it will become watery and use the sour buttermilk(no fresh).
• Tomato can also be added once the onion is sauteed and do not fry the vadas too much crispy.

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Stuffed Bread Rolls

This is a simple,healthy and filling snack which can be made with variety of stuffing or even left over dry curries,here I used potato and paneer stuffing.Last week we had guests at my place got twin pack of bread and didn't use it for breakfast.I wanted to use the bread and make a snack,got the idea of making bread rolls for the brunch and here is the recipe ......

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Bread slices	15nos.
Potato(boiled)	5nos.
Paneer(grated)	1/2cup
Onion(chopped)	2nos.(medium size)
Green chillies(chopped)	5nos.
Ginger&garlic paste	1tsp
Chilly powder	1/4tsp
Coriander Powder	1/2tsp
Garam masala powder	a generous pinch
Turmeric powder	1/2tsp
Coriander leaves(chopped)	3tbs
Cumin seeds(jeeragam)	1tsp
Salt	to taste
Oil	1tbs+4tbs(for frying)

Method

                              Heat oil in a pan and crackle the cumin seeds and saute the onion,green chillies till transparent,add  the ginger and  garlic paste.Now add the powders,salt and fry it for a minute.
Then add the mashed potato and paneer.Mix it well till everything gets blend and add the coriander leaves,keep it in a low flame for couple of minutes.The stuffing is ready.
Take a slice of bread,trim the crust and roll it with a rolling pin,keep a generous amount of stuffing in the center.Roll it from the end and seal the edges by pressing with water.

Heat a griddle or a pan add a tbs of oil and shallow fry it till golden color all the sides or bake it in the oven for 300 degree Fahrenheit until golden brown.
Serve it hot with ketchup or tomato sauce.

Enjoy......

• Mixed veggies can also be added along with potato and paneer.
• Serve it within 30 minutes,otherwise it will become soggy.
• Chat masala or amchur powder can be added to the stuffing for extra flavor and taste.

Linking this one to Srivalli's Snack Mela.
Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Bittergourd /Karela/Pakarkaai Fritters

Bitter gourd fritters is a simple and easy to make crunchy dish slightly bitter in taste which can be eaten as an accompaniment for sambhar or dhal rice.Though it is bitter in taste it has lots of medicinal values,I buy it once in a while and make stir fry, fritters some times pitlai.My son who is a picky eater likes to have this crunchy fritters.

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Bitter gourd	3nos.(big size)
Besan(kadalamaavu)	3/4cup
Rice flour	1/4cup
Wheat flour	1tbs
Red chilly powder	1tsp
Turmeric powder	1/2tsp
Lemon juice	11/2tsp
Salt	to taste
Oil	for frying

Method

                          Wash and slice the bittergourd to a thin rounds and mix all the ingredients together except oil  by sprinkling water.Keep it aside for 10 minutes.
Keep oil in a frying pan in a medium flame and fry in the oil till it becomes crispy.Drain it in a paper towel.
Serve it with sambhar rice.

Enjoy.......

• Slicing the bitter gourd in a slicer gives perfect and thin slices.
• Frying in the medium flame is very important to get crispy fritters.
• It can be baked in the oven instead of deep frying but tastes better with frying.
• Adding lemon juice helps reducing the bitter taste and can be substituted with amchur powder.
• It can be stored in an air tight container after cooling down completely and stays crispy for a day.
• Instead of red chilly powder sambhar powder can be used.

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com