Koya jamuns

Ingredients

Koya - 1.5 cups

Maida or plain flour - 1 cup

Salt - a pinch

Baking soda - 1 tsp(optional)

Cardamom powder - 1 tsp

Procedure 

Grate khoya and mash chenna and keep aside. Mix grated koya, sieved maida flour, green cardamom powder and a little water to make a soft dough.

Divide the dough and shape them into small balls. Prepare a sugar syrup with sugar and two cups of water. Add a tsp of milk to remove the scum from the syrup.

Heat ghee/oil in a kadai. Add the balls and deep fry on low heat till golden in colour. Drain and soak in the sugar syrup for atleast fifteen minutes. Serve hot or warm

Easy Malai kofta

Ingredients

For kofta balls

Medium sized potatoes - 5 or 6 (boiled & mashed)
Paneer - 1 cup
Corn flour - 2 tbsp
Salt

For gravy

Onion - 1
Tomato - 1
Tomato puree - 2 cups
Onion puree - 1 cup
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Red chillie powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste.

For tempering

Oil - 2 tsp
Bay leaves - 1
Cinnamon stick - 1
Clove - 1
Cardamom - 2

Add 2 tsp oil in a thick bottomed pan

Add spices one by one and chopped onions.

Once the onion turns transparent, add tomatoes

Add tumeric powder, chillie powder and garam masala. Saute well for a minute.

Soak some cashews in warm water for 10 minutes. Grind them to a thick paste.

Add the cashew paste to the mixture and still well.

In a pressure cooker, boil the potatoes for 2 to 3 whistles.

Open the pressure cooker after 10 minutes. Peel the skin and mash the potatoes.

In a bowl, add the mashed potatoes, grated aneer and cornflour along with a tsp of salt.

Mix the ingredients well. Make small balls out of it.

Dip the balls in corn flour and drop one by one in oil without much crowding.

Deep fry the kofta balls till it turns golden

 in colour.

Kofta balls ready.

Add the gravy to the kofta balls before serving. Grate the paneer on the mixture. Garnish with coriander and mint leaves. Lip-smacking malai kofta ready to serve with Briyani, plain rice, Phulkas, Rotis etc.

Vegetable dum briyani or Hyderabad briyani

Ingredients

Rice (soaked) - 2 cups

Water - 2 cups

Beans - 1 cup chopped

Carrot - 1 cup chopped

Potatoes - 1 cup chopped

Onions - 2

Ginger - grated or chopped

Masala items - bay leaf, cinnamon, clove, cardamom.

Garam masala - 1 tsp

Ghee - 3 tbsp
Saffron strands soaked in milk.
Salt to taste.

Procedure

cut the veggies in length-wise.

In a pressure pan, add 1 teaspoon ghee. Add bayleaf, cinnamon, clove.

Add chopped onions and slited green chillies along with ginger. Saute for a while.

Add the chopped veggies and stir well.

Add 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder, red chillie powder, garam masala and salt. Mix well.

Meanwhile, soak the basmati in water for 30 minutes

Add the soaked basmati rice and saute well for 5 minutes.

Add water, saffron soaked milk, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 tbsp butter and close the pan with the lid. Let it cook till 1 whistle.

Keep the pressure pan on top of the dosa tava and dum it for ten minutes in simmer.

Yummy Vegetable dum briyani is ready. 

In a tava, add oil. Add the spices and chopped onions.

Fry the onion till golden brown.

Garnish the dum briyani with fried onion. Delicious hyderabad dum briyani ready to serve.

Chow Chow/Chayote Paal kootu (Palakad cuisine)

Chow chow paal kootu is my kids favourite dish. They have either as side dish or as mixing with rice. Normally, i use to cook in large quantity as they like to have for dinner also as a side dish. This dish can be done without adding coconut or with coconut. My recipe is without coconut. An idle dish for all seasons. It took only 20 minutes to prepare.

Ingredients

Chow chow/Chayote - 1 (medium sized)
Tomato - 1
Moong dal or pasi paruppu - 1.5 cups
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Lemon  -  Half
Salt to taste

For tempering

Mustard - 1 tsp
Urid dal - 1 tsp
Dried red chillies - 2 or 3
Asfoetida - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves

Step by step method

Measure 1.5 cups moong dal or pasi paruppu in a pressure pan

Add water and turmeric powder

Chop tomato and add it to the moong dal mixture. Saute for a minute.

Add diced chayote too. Stir well. Close the pan with the lid.

After 1 whistle sound, switch off the stove. Open the lid after 5 minutes and add milk. Mix well without smashing chow chow/chayote.

In a wok or kadai, add 1 tsp oil and mustard

Once mustard cracks, add urid dal and roast. Add dried red chillies, asfoetida and saute.

Squeeze half a lemon after the chow chow paal kootu is warm and mix.

Garnish with curry leaves. Chow chow or chayote paal kootu is ready to serve with rice, chapathis, parotas, phulkas,  puris, idli and dosai.

Vella Sadham

Vella sadham or Jaggery Rice, is a delicious sweet recipe we prepare during Navratiri festival along with sundal. My mom taught me this recipe and she used to prepare this dish during Navratiri pooja at home. Vella sadham is an easy and quick recipe. It tastes similar to sakarai pongal or sweet pongal. The main difference is for sakkarai pongal, milk and moong dal are added. This rich flavour recipe is suitable for all occassions.

Ingredients

Rice - 1 cup
Jaggery - 1 cup
Water - 2 cups to cook rice and 1 cup for making jaggery syrup.
Grated coconut - 2 tbsp
Elaichi/cardamom powder - 1 tsp
Cashew nuts - 6 or 8
Ghee

Procedure

Cook the rice in a pressure cooker, rice cooker or in a microwave. In a broad pan, add 1 cup of water. When the water starts to boil, add jaggery. Cook till the jaggery melts . Add cashew nuts and cardamom powder along with grated coconut. Mix well.

Now, add the cooked rice to the jaggery mixture. Stir well and cook until rice absorbs the jaggery water completely. Switch off the gas and add 2 tsp of ghee.

Vella sadham or Jaggery rice is ready for nivedhanam.

*Note : Jaggery water should not be in thick consistency. You can do this recipe without grated coconut also. I added grated coconut for rich flavour.

Kadai Capsicum Paneer or shahi paneer

Ingredients

1/2 kg Paneer Cubes
1 small Capsicum cubed
1 small Tomato, cubed
4 tablespoon Tomato puree
1 teaspoon Ginger paste
1/2 cup peas
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon Oil
 Chopped coriander leaves

Spices

Green chillies - 2
1 teaspoon Cumin seeds/jeera
1 teaspoon Coarse coriander powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon red chillie powder

Step by step instructions

Dip paneer in warm water with a pinch of turmeric powder. This step is involved to make the paneer soft while cooking.

Cut Paneer in cubes.

In a kadai heat oil. Add cumin seeds and green chillies. When cumin starts to crackle, add ginger paste and chopped tomatoes and capsicum. Add boiled peas too.

Grind 2 tomatoes in a blender.

Pour in tomato puree and saute for a minute. Mix the spices. Add water and stir well.

Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes until capsicum is half cooked. Add garam masala powder, salt and mix. Stir in the paneer pieces.

Mix until well blended. Garnish with cashew nuts and chopped coriander leaves. Delicious Kadai paneer is ready.

A great side dish for chapathis and phulkas.It goes well with Rice too.

 

Chocolate icecream

Ingredients

Milk - 1 cup
Cocoa powder - 2 tbsp
Sugar - 2 tbsp
Condensed milk - 2 tbsp
Pistachio - 2 tsp (chopped)
Cashew - 2 tsp (chopped)

In a milk pan, measure 1 cup milk.

Add cocoa powder to the milk and mix well

Keep the pan in stove, cook in simmer for 10 minutes. Add heap of sugar to the mixture.

Once the cocoa powder mixes well with milk, switch off the gas. Add 2 tsp condensed milk and mix well. Let it completely cool down

. Chop pistachios and cashews.

Refregirate the mixture for an hour. Take out from the fridge, beat the mixture in the blender. Add the chopped cashews and pistachios and again refrigerate for an hour. Yummy chocolate icecream is ready to serve.