Corn Flour Halwa

For the final week of blogging marathon#17 I have chosen the Indian sweets payasam and halwa theme,today's recipe is cornflour halwa.This halwa is also known as Karachi Halwa.
Corn flour halwa is a delicious and excellent halwa which can be made in no time with easily available ingredients and lesser amount of ghee.Here goes the recipe for simple halwa.........

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Corn Flour	1/2cup
Sugar	11/2cups
Water	21/2cups
Ghee	2-3tbs
Cashews(finely chopped)	2-3tbs
Elachi powder/ellakai podi	1/2tsp
Food colour(red or orange)	a pinch

Method

                        Fry the cashews in 1/2tsp of ghee and grease a small plate or tray with little ghee.Mix the corn flour with 11/2cups of water along with the food color without any lumps,keep aside.Heat a heavy bottom pan and add the sugar and 1 cup of water,bring it to a boil till it becomes thick(no need of any string consistency).

Add the corn flour mixture slowly to the sugar syrup and stir it continuously to avoid any lumps till it becomes thick.

At this stage add the ghee and mix it well till the mixture becomes glossy and transparent.Put off the stove.

Now add the elaichi powder and fried cashews to it and give it a mix,then transfer it to the greased plate.Slice it after it completely cool down.

Corn flour halwa is ready.

Enjoy.............................

• Do not compromise on the amount of sugar,otherwise it does not taste good.
• After adding the corn flour mixture it is important to stir continuously to avoid lumps.
• Nuts such as pumpkin seeds,cucumber seeds and almonds can also added for extra rich taste.

Check out the fellow bloggers in Blogging Marathon#17 here.
Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Eggless strawberry Ice Cream

Last week we been to strawberry picking,got 3 pounds of strawberries and some of them are over ripe,sour couldn't consume it.So I made strawberry milk shake and ice cream before it spoils.
I almost followed the same recipe of the mango ice cream which i make often and came out delicious and exotic.Now to the recipe..............

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Whipping cream	1cup
Condensed milk	2/3cup
Strawberry Puree(from fresh or frozen strawberries)	11/4cups
Sugar	3tbs
Strawberry(finely chopped)	5-6nos.

Method

                                        Clean the strawberries and chop them,puree it in a blender along with the sugar and keep aside.

In a mixing bowl,add the whipping cream and blend it with a electric beater or hand blender to soft peak consistency.

Now add condensed milk and strawberry puree to the cream.

Mix it well with a spatula(no need of blender).Transfer it to a freezer safe bowl and cover the top with a cling wrap,close it with a lid.Keep it in the freezer for 2-3 hours.

After 2 hours take it out from the refrigerator and add the chopped strawberries and mix it well with a spatula and put the cling wrap on the top,freeze it for 6-8 hours or overnight.

Delicious strawberry ice cream is ready.

Enjoy..............................................

• Adding the chopped strawberries is purely optional.
• If the strawberries are sweet enough then no need to add sugar,mine was bit sour.So I used sugar.
• To get a deep pink color 2tbs of store bought strawberry syrup can be used.

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Nendran Vazhakkai Chips/Raw Banana Chips

Today's recipe is a simple and crunchy addictive snack which is my family's favorite,make it quite often.
Nendran chips is originally fried in coconut oil which is flavorful and it is very famous snack in Kerala.Whenever my Dad used to go for his business trip to Kerala got this flavorful chips.Now to the recipe.........

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Raw banana/nendran kai	3nos.
Turmeric powder/manjal podi	1tsp
Salt	1tsp
Coconut oil or any cooking oil	for frying

Method

                           Remove the top and bottom portion of the banana and make a long slit on the skin with a knife and peel the skin.

After peeling the skin wash the banana,wipe it with a tissue paper and slice it into thin slices using a slicer.Mix the salt and turmeric powder with 2tbs of water,keep aside.

Heat a heavy bottom pan with the oil in a medium flame and deep fry the slices till the sizzling sound stops.At this stage sprinkle 2 tsp of salt water to the chips.

Fry it till the bubbles settle down.Take it from the oil and drain it on an absorbent paper.Fry the rest of the banana slices the same way.Store it in an air tight container after cooling.

Serve it as a snack or an accompaniment for rice dishes.

Enjoy..............................................................

• The banana should be sliced evenly to get a nice crispier chips.
• Fry one layer of slices in the oil,don't add add too many slices,otherwise the chips won't cook properly and get crispy.
• Instead of using coconut oil any cooking oil can be used,for the flavor 2tbs of coconut oil can be added along with the oil.
• If you want to spice up sprinkle some chilly powder or black pepper powder after drained it from the oil.
• Do not peel the skin with the peeler and don't reuse the oil,it will be salty.

Sending this to Kid's delight event started by Srivalli and hosted by Vardhini.
Also to the Kerela kitchen event hosted by Julie,along with this I am sending the Ulli Theeyal to the event.

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Onion Kulcha

For the Indian Cooking Challenge(ICC) Srivalli has chosen 3 types of stuffed kulchas such as onion kulcha,aloo anardhana kulcha,panner kulcha for the last month.Due to to some reasons it was cancelled and we are doing this month.
As I don't have panner and anardhana powder I chose to make Onion kulcha which came out very perfect and we enjoyed with green peas masala.Now to the recipe....................  

Ingredients
For the Kulcha

Ingredient	Quantity
All purpose flour/maida	3cups
Baking soda	1/8tsp
Baking powder	1/2tsp
Sugar	1tbs
Salt	1tsp
Yogurt/curd	1/2cup
Ghee	1tbs
Oil	1/4cup

Ingredients
For the Filling

Ingredient	Quantity
Onion(finely chopped)	2nos.(medium size)
Green chilly(finely chopped)	3-4nos.
Ajwain/omam	1/4tsp
Ginger(grated)	1/2tsp
Cumin seeds/jeeragam	1/4tsp
Coriander leaves(finely chopped)	2tbs(optional)
Salt	to taste

Method 

                              Mix the ingredients given to make kulcha in a wide bowl and mix well with water as needed to a soft dough and set it aside for 2-3 hours.

Mix the chopped onions,green chillies,grated ginger,cumin seeds and ajwain along with salt.

Divide the dough equally and roll into a small disc and keep 1tbs of filling in the center.Pull the edges  to the center and cover it.

Flatten it and roll gently without giving too much of pressure on a floured surface into circle.

Heat a griddle and cook it both sides in a medium flame till brown spots appear.Drizzle some oil or ghee both sides.

Serve it with chole or curry of your choice.

Enjoy.................................... 

• Squeeze the excess moisture in the onion before mixing everything otherwise the stuffing become watery and cannot be rolled properly. 

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Mango Kulfi

Kulfi is a frozen Indian dessert made by evaporating milk and other flavoring agents and freeze in a kulfi mould.
My family loves to eat ice cream especially the mango flavor and I tried this mango kulfi with the store bought mango pulp.
I have adapted the recipe from Tarladalal and came out very delicious and now to the recipe of exotic kulfi................

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Milk	21/2cups
Milk powder	1/4cup
Condensed milk	1/2cup
Sugar	2tbs
Mango pulp	1cup
Cardamom Powder(optional)	1/4tsp

Method 

• Mix all the ingredients except mango pulp in a heavy bottom pan and bring it to a boil.Then simmer it for 10 -15 minutes until the mixture gets thick and let it cool.
• Once the mixture gets cool down completely add the mango pulp and mix it well.
• Pour it in a kulfi mould or posicle mould and freeze it for minimum 6-8 hours or completely set.
• To unmould the kulfi run it under the tap water for 30 seconds and pull it gently.
• Mango kulfi is ready.

 Enjoy..............................................

• Add the mango pulp to the milk mixture after it is completely cool down.
• Adding cardamom powder is purely optional.
• I used the popsicle mould to make the kulfi,if you are using plastic glasses put the mixture and freeze it halfway then insert a popsicle stick,wrap it with a foil and freeze it again.

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com