Thandai - Spiced and Flavored Almond Milk

Thandai is a popular Rajasthani chilled drink served in summer to beat the heat and during festivals such as Holi and Sivarathri.
Thandai can be prepared by grinding the nuts and spices to a ground paste or to a fine powder.Today's version is the later one and the recipe is off to the Regional Dishes for the day 2 in Blogging Marathon#35.Here goes the recipe.........

Basic Information

Preparation Time 10 minutes
Cooking Time 20-25 minutes
Serves 2

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
1% Milk	2 cups
Whole milk	3/4 cup
Sugar/sakkarai	5tbs
Saffron/kungumapoo	7-8 strands
Sliced pistacios and almonds	for garnish

For the Powder

Ingredient	Quantity
Almonds/Badam	1/4 cup
Cashews/mundiri	2tbs
Fennel seeds/sombu	1tsp
Black pepper/milagu	10-12
Poppy seeds/kasa kasa	11/2tsp
Cardamom/ellakai	5-6

Method

Boil the milk in a medium flame for 10 minutes,meanwhile keep all the ingredients given for the powder in a microwave safe bowl and heat it the microwave for couple of minutes to get crisp.Grind it to a fine powder in a blender.

Once the milk is boiled add the sugar and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes,add the saffron and put of the flame.Now add the ground nuts and spice powder to the milk and mix it well.After it comes to the room temperature,refrigerate it for 2-3 hours.

Strain the milk,garnish it with finely sliced nuts and serve.

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

• Rose water can be added for extra flavor and melon seeds can also be used along with nuts.
• The amount of sugar given is perfect,if you want it more sweeter you can increase.
• Here I used both 1% and whole milk,you can use whole milk for extra rich taste.

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Missi Roti

For the third week of Blogging Marathon #36 ,I chose Regional recipes and sharing some of the recipes of Rajasthan.Today's recipe is a popular flat bread in Rajasthani cuisine called Missi roti with wheat and gram flour combo.For Missi roti I added only coriander leaves,you can add freshly chopped fenugreek leaves to make it even more flavorful.This roti goes very well with simple pickle ,dhal and yogurt.It can be served with any veggie subzi or curry for a complete satisfactory meal.Off to the recipe..........................

Basic Information

Preparation Time- 10-15 minutes
Cooking Time-15 minutes
Makes -  6

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Wheat flour/gothumai maavu	11/4 cups
Gram flour/kadalai maavu/besan	1/2 cup
Onion(finely chopped)	1(medium size)
Green Chilly/pachamilagai	3(finely chopped)
Cumin seeds/jeeragam	1tsp
Turmeric Powder/manjal podi	1/8tsp
Salt	1tsp
Asafoetida/perungayam	a pinch
Amchur powder(optional)	1tsp
Coriander leaves/kothamalli	2tbs(finely chopped)
Oil	1tbs
Oil/butter	for brushing
Wheat flour	for dusting
Water	to knead

Method

• In a large mixing bowl,put together everything except the oil/butter for brushing and mix it well.

• Slowly add water and knead to a soft dough and cover it with a damp cloth or plate,let it rest for 10 -15 minutes.

• Divide the dough into 6 equal portions,roll into a 6-7 inch disc on a floured surface.Heat the griddle and cook it both sides.Apply some butter or oil.

• Serve it any vegetable curry or pickle.

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

• Instead of green chillies,red chilly powder can be used.
• The amount of besan can be increased or decrease according to personal preference.

Check out the fellow bloggers participating in Blogging Marathon #35.

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Vegan Challah Bread /Braided Bread

For this month Home Bakers Challenge,Priya Ranjit  has chosen Christmas cookies,cakes and Jewish Challah bread.
I tired the vegan version using the gram flour(besan) and it came out so delicious and soft but I couldn't braid it properly.
Sangeetha suggested to dry roast the besan as she had the feeling of besan smell,so dry roasted it.If you are using besan dry roast it for couple of minutes in a medium flame and use.As I made a braided bread for first time I scaled down the measurement and made a 10 inch loaf.Now off to the recipe..............

Basic Information

Recipe Source Sweet Life
Preparation time 15 minutes
Resting time 1 hour+45 minutes
Baking Time 40-45 minutes
Makes 10 inch loaf

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
All purpose flour/maida	11/2-2cups
Active Yeast/instant yeast	1tsp
Sugar	1/4cup
Gram flour/kadalamaavu	1/4cup
Olive Oil	3tbs
Water	1cup
Salt	3/4tsp
Sesame seeds/yellu	1tsp

Method

Dry roast the gramflour/besan  for couple of minutes,once it becomes warm enough add around 1/3 cup of water and mix it well with no lumps.To this add the sugar,oil and mix it well.In a big mixing bowl add the flour,active yeast and salt,mix it well with a whisk.

Now add the gramflour mixture and mix it well.Knead it to soft dough using water as needed for 5-7 minutes.The dough should be soft and not very sticky.Cover it with a cling wrap and keep it in a warm place to raise for an hour.

By one hour the dough would have doubled,punch down the dough and knead it well for a minute.Now divide the dough into four equal parts.Roll each part to a small log and keep it aside for 5 minutes.

Now take each log and roll into a 10-12 inch strand by moving the hands in rocking motion to get a nice strand.Place the 4 strands on a counter top or a board,squeeze the ends of the strands together and start braid.From the left hand side start the braid by crossing the 4th strand on 2 and 1 over 3,do it till the end.Tuck the finished end and transfer it to the baking tray.

Cover it with a cling wrap and keep it aside for the second raise for 40 minutes.Apply some olive oil and sprinkle the sesame seeds.Once the size become doubled,preheat the oven for 375F.Bake the bread in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or a nice golden crust is formed.

Cool it on a wire rack and slice it when it comes to room temperature.

Apply some butter or jelly and serve it.

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

• Here I used sesame seeds,originally poppy seeds are used.
• My sesame seeds didn't stick to the bread properly and I brushed with oil after sprinkling the sesame seeds to get a golden crust.
• In original recipe soy milk is used for brushing.

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Puli Milagai/Green Chilly in Tamarind Sauce

Today's recipe for Cooking from a Cook book Challenge (CCC) event is Puli Milagai,an accompaniment with a blend of spicy,tangy and mild sweet taste.
Puli milgai goes very well with curd rice and the consistency is personal preference,it can be made slightly runny or pickle like consistency.As we prefer pickle like consistency I made it slightly thicker.
This recipe I noted down from my sister's recipe collections,now on to the recipe........................

Basic Information

Preparation time 10 minutes
Cooking time 20 minutes
Makes 3/4 cup

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Green Chilly/pachamilgai	20-25(sliced)
Tamarind/puli	small lemon size
Jaggery/vellam	11/2-2 tbs
Oil	2tbs
Turmeric powder/manjal podi	1/4tsp
Mustard seeds/kadugu	3/4tsp
Fenugreek seeds/vendayam	1/8tsp
Salt	3/4- 1tsp

Method

Slice the green chillies and soak the tamarind in a cup of water,extract the juice.Set it aside.

Heat a pan with oil and crackle the mustard and fenugreek seeds,add the sliced green chillies.Saute it for couple of minutes.Add the tamarind water,salt and turmeric powder.Let it boil in a medium flame for 10 minutes or till the raw smell disappears.

Add the jaggery and cook it for 2-3 minutes or till it reaches the desired consistency.Put off the fire.

Store it in a glass container after cooling.

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

• The amount of jaggery can be increased according to personal preference.
• While slicing the green chillies remove some seeds to avoid extra spicy.
• Here I used the small variety of green chilly,if you are using the long one reduce it to half of the amount.
• Puli milgai tastes better on the next day and can be stored in room temperature for 3-4 days and in refrigerator for 10 days.
• Instead of jaggery,brown sugar can be used.

This recipe is off to Cook Book Challenge #3 December week 2.

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Eggless Vanilla Cake - Pressure Cooker Method

Today's recipe is an eggless vanilla cake made in a pressure cooker instead of oven.When I saw the sponge cake in Divya's space wanted to try it.As we always prefer to have eggless cake I tweaked the recipe to make an eggless cake.
I wanted to use the condensed milk instead of egg but unfortunately no condensed milk in my pantry.So used the yogurt and the output was a soft and spongy cake.The only thing went wrong was it burned slightly in the bottom and while inverting the cake little portion got stuck to the pan.So I couldn't get the full cake for the picture and I was bit upset.Then all of a sudden got the idea of doing some frosting and the only thing I had in the refrigerator was the heavy so whipped the cream and frosted the cake,decorated with some strawberries.Now off to the recipe....................................

Basic Information

Preparation time - 20 minutes
Cooking time - 50 minutes
Makes - 8 inch round

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
All purpose flour/maida	11/4cups
Butter/vennai	1/2cup
Sugar	3/4cup
Yogurt/thayir/curd	1cup
Baking powder	1tsp
Baking soda	1/4tsp
Salt	a pinch
Vanilla	1tsp
Oil spray or butter	1tsp(for greasing)

For the Frosting

Ingredient	Quantity
Heavy Cream	1cup
Powdered sugar	3tbs
Vanilla	1tsp
Strawberry(sliced)	4-5

Method

Grease the pan with a fat free spray or butter and keep it aside.Sieve all purpose flour,salt,baking powder,baking soda together for 2 times,set until it aside.Cream together butter and sugar until frothy using a hand blender or electric blender,to this add the yogurt and beat it well.

Now add the flour mixture and fold in,add the vanilla  and mix it well.Now pour this batter in the greased pan upto 3/4th.

Now put a separator plate at the bottom of the cooker and close it with the lid(no need of gasket and whistle).Pre heat for 10 minutes in a medium flame.Now keep the pan on top of the separator plate,put the lid on and cook it in a low flame 45-50 minutes.Check it between if the cake is cooked or not.
Once the cake is done remove it from the flame and keep the lid closed for another 10 minutes.Remove the cake carefully from the cooker and allow it to cool completely.After cooling invert the cake on a plate and slightly tap the bottom of the pan.

Spongy Vanilla cake is ready.

Frosting

For the frosting beat the heavy cream,sugar and vanilla till it reaches a peak consistency.

Apply it on the cake with a spatula evenly.Decorate with the strawberry as per your wish.

Keep it in the refrigerator 30 minutes and serve it.

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

• Use a bigger size cooker I used my 5 liters cooker and don't use the whistle and the gasket.This is very important.
• The separator plate is must to prevent burning so don't forget.
• Don't open the cooker  and check frequently,may be 2-3 times.
• After adding the flour to the mixture don't use the electric blender just use a spatula to fold in or use the electric blender in small speed.
• Remove the cake from the pan once its completely cool down.
• I used a 8 inch round pan and little batter was left ,I baked 3 cup cakes out of it.

Check out the fellow bloggers participating in Blogging Marathon #35.

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Tomato Biriyani - Pressure Cooker Method

Making one pot meal has become very easy after the arrival of pressure cooker and makes the work lot easier.
For the second day of Blogging Marathon #35 under the theme pressure cooker I made Tomato Biriyani,one pot meal.
This is my mom's version and she uses seraga sambha rice,here I also used the same rice.The biriyani came out very delicious and flavorful.Off to the recipe..............................

Basic Information

Preparation time 10 minutes
Cooking time 30 minutes
Serves 3-4

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Seraga sambhaa rice/basmathi rice	11/2cups
Onion(sliced)	1(large size)
Tomato(finely chopped)	4(medium size)
Chilly Powder/milgai podi	1/2-3/4tsp
Coriander Powder/dhaniya podi	1tsp
Garam Masala Powder	1/4tsp
Turmeric powder	1/8tsp
Ginger&garlic paste	11/2tsp
Green Chilly(slit lengthy)	4
Coriander leaves(chopped)	2tbs
Mint leaves/pudina(chopped)	15-20 leaves
Cashews(optional)	7-8(broken)
Water	23/4cups
Salt	to taste
Oil	2tbs
Ghee/nei	2tbs

For the Tempering 

Ingredient	Quantity
Cloves/lavangam	4
Cinnamon/pattai	1 ich piece
Star anise	1
Bay leaf/biriyani ilai	1
Cardamom/ellakai	2

Method

Soak the rice for 20 minutes,heat a pressure pan or cooker with oil and ghee,temper it with the ingredients given for tempering.Saute the onion,green chillies and half of the chopped mint leaves with a pinch of salt to transparent then ginger and garlic paste.Now add the  tomatoes,cook till mushy.

Add all the spice powders,salt and stir it for a minute then add the measured water and the remaining mint leaves and chopped coriander leaves.

Let it boil,now add the soaked rice to it and allow it to cook for a boil.Now close the pressure cooker with the lid and keep the flame to a medium.Cook it for two whistles and keep it in a low flame for 3 minutes.Put off the flame and open it after the pressure subsides.Fluff it with a fork.

Serve it warm along with onion raitha,chips and veg or non veg curry.

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

• The amount of water depends on the quality of the rice,for seraga sambha rice I use 23/4 cups for 11/2 cups of water if its basmathi use 21/3cups.
• The amount of red chilly powder is depends on personal preference,mine is extra hot chilly powder so used 1/2 tsp.
• Use well ripe tomatoes to get a nice tangy taste.
• Addition ghee gives a nice flavor and extra richness to the biriyani and addition of cashew is purely optional.

Check out the fellow bloggers participating in Blogging Marathon #35.

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com