Badam Halwa

Wishing you all A very Happy New year,2014 brings you all health,wealth and happiness.Today I start the new year with a sweet post,Badam halwa a simple dessert/sweet.Making badam halwa is very easy but the peeling almonds needs some extra time that's the reason I kept postponing.But its worth it for the taste and finally made it with my son's help for peeling.As I was in a hurry I couldn't take the stepwise properly will update it soon and pictures also didn't come out good as I expected due to poor lighting.Lets get into the recipe........

Basic Information

Soaking time ~ 2 hours
Preparation Time ~ 30 minutes
Cooking Time ~ 20 -25 minutes
Makes `11/4cups

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Almonds/badam	1/2 cup
Sugar/sakkarai	1/2 cup+1tbs
Full cream milk/whole milk	1/4-1/3cup
Cardamom powder/ellakai	1/2tsp
Saffron/kungumapoo	few strands
Yellow food color	a pinch(optional)
Ghee/nei	3-4tbs

Method

• Soak the almond in water for 2 hours and peel the skin.put the peeled almonds in a blender and grind along with milk to a bit coarse paste(fine rava consistency).Soak the saffron threads in a tbs of milk and set it aside.
• Heat a pan with 2bs of ghee and add the almond paste,then add the sugar and mix it well.cook it in a medium flame for 5 minutes,now add the saffron mixture and stir it well.
• Add the remaining ghee and food color,mix it well and stir it continuously till it leaves the sides of the pan.Finally add the cardamom powder and put off the flame,mix it well.
• Delicious and mouthwatering Badam halwa is ready.

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

• Adding food color is purely optional but it gives a nice look to the halwa.
• After it reaches the consistency remove it from the heat.
• When it is warm it may be slightly watery but after cooling the halwa will be in the correct consistency.
• Do not grind the almonds to a very fine paste.
• While cooking the mixture splutters so be careful and once it is nearing to the consistency the spluttering reduces,its a sign.
• If you feel the mixture is sticky the add some ghee.
• You can wrap single serving of halwa in a butter paper and keep it
• Soak the almonds in hot water if you want it get it done right away.
  

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Brinjal Masala Kulambhu/Kathirikkai Masala Kulambhu

We make masala kulambhu slightly in a different way as I have shared it already here.But today's version  is my  friends recipe which I had noted down after tasting it couple of times.Whenever I get tender and small brinjals/eggplants make this kulambhu for weekend lunch.This kulambhu tastes very well with the white rice and pappad,but I paired up with spinach kottu and potato fry.This recipe is off CCC event started by Srivalli and Dish it out event-Tomato and garlic at my space started by Vardhini.Lets move on to the recipe............

Basic Information

Preparation time - 10 minutes
Cooking time - 25-30minutes
Serves - 3-4

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Shallots/Pearl onion	10-15nos.
Round small brinjal/kathirrikai	5-6(sliced lengthy)
Tomato(chopped)	1(medium size)
Turmeric powder	1/2tsp
Oil	2tbs
Curry leaves	1 sprig
Coriander leaves/kothamalli	2 sprigs(chopped)
Red chilly powder/milagai podi	2tsp
Fennel seeds/sombhu	1/4tsp
Salt	11/2tsp

 To Saute and grind

Ingredient	Quantity
Cumin seeds/jeeragam	1tsp
Fennel seeds/sombu	1tsp
Fenugreek seeds/vendhayam	1/8tsp
Coriander seeds/varakothamalli	1tbs
Cloves/lavangam	3-4
Cinnamon/pattai	1inch
Coconut(grated)	5tbs

Method

Soak the tamarind with enough water and extract it.
Heat a tsp of oil and add fenugreek seeds,cumin seeds,fennel seeds,cloves,cinnamon,coriander seeds.Fry it for a minute then add the grated coconut and mix it well.Put off the flame,after cooling grind it to a fine paste with enough water.Keep it aside.

Now heat a pan with the remaining oil and crackle the fennel seeds,add the curry leaves and saute the sliced shallots and garlic with a pinch of salt.Once the shallots turn transparent add the sliced brinjal and chopped tomato,cook it till the color of the brinjal gets changed.

Now add the red chilly powder,turmeric powder and the ground paste.Mix it well,fry it for couple of minutes.Add the tamarind water and a cup of water.

Add the salt,let the mixture gets cooked well in a medium flame for 10-12 minutes or till the raw smell goes off.Finally sprinkle the coriander leaves and put off the flame.

Serve it after an hour to get the flavors incorporate well.

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

• Here I used a small size ball of tamarind,if you are using tamarind paste use around a tbs.
• Use small round brinjals to get evenly cooked.
• The amount of red chilly powder given is for perfect spicy,you can alter it according to your preference.

This recipe is off to Cook Book Challenge #3 December week 4 and Dish it Out event happenings at my space started by Vardhini.

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Fruit Custard

Fruit custard is an easy and colorful,comforting dessert can be served after a heavy meal.This is my family's favorite and I make it for almost parties and get togethers especially with a heavy non-vegetarian meal.
All you need is to chop fruits of your choice and add it to the cooked custard and serve.The custard can be cooked on the previous day and refrigerated,just add the chopped fruits at the time of serving.Off to the recipe................

Basic Information

Preparation Time ~ 10-15 minutes
Cooking Time ~ 10 minutes
Cooling Time ~ 2 hours
Serves ~ 3

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Milk/paal	2 cups
Custard powder(any flavor)	2tbs
Sugar/sakkarai	2tbs
Mixed Fruits(chopped) (I used apple,grapes,banana orange)	11/2-2 cups

Method

Boil 13/4 cups of milk in a medium flame for 10 minutes.Meanwhile with remaining 1/4 cup mix the custard powder with no lumps and keep it aside.

Once the milk boiled add the sugar and let it simmer for 5 minutes,now reduce the flame completely and add the custard powder mixture,mix it well.Let it cook for a minute or two till it become thick,remove it from the flame.Let it come to the room temperature,chill it in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

At the time of serving add the required amount of fruits in the serving bowl and top it the required amount of chilled custard.

If needed top it with some nuts.

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

• After the custard is cooked completely immediately remove it from the fire otherwise it may become thick and lumpy.
• If you are making it for a big crowd keep the chilled custard separately and chilled fruits separately and its easy to store the leftover separately.
• Keep the chopped fruits in the refrigerator till serving to prevent the browning.
• Fruits of your choice can be added.
• If the custard becomes too thick just add 2-3 tbs of milk and mix it well.

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

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Bread Jamun

For the day 2 of blogging Marathon#35 I am sharing you all a simple yet delicious jamuns made out of leftover bread.
This jamun tastes more or less similar to the khoya jamun and can be made in a jiffy.If you want you can stuff the jamuns with nuts and saffron.But today I made without any stuffing and used cardamom powder for the flavor.Lets move on to the recipe..................................

Basic Information

Preparation time ~15 minutes
Cooking time ~ 20-25 minutes
Soaking time ~ 2 hours
Makes ~13

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
White Bread slice	6
Milk powder	2tbs
Full cream milk/whole milk	1/4-1/3cup
Cardamom powder/ellakai	1/2tsp
Sugar/sakkarai	1/2cup+2tbs
Oil	for frying
Ghee/nei	1tbs

Method

Heat the sugar in a pan with 3/4 cup of water and stir it,keep in a medium flame till it becomes thick(no need of string consistency).Add the cardamom powder and keep it aside.

Trim the edges of the bread and tear into pieces and blend it to a fine powder in a blender.Transfer it to a bowl,to this add the milk powder and mix it well.Sprinkle milk little by little and make a soft dough.

Grease the palm and fingers with a drop of ghee,now pinch out a small gooseberry size of dough and roll it to a smooth ball without giving too much of pressure.Continue for the rest of the dough.

Heat a pan with oil and ghee in a medium flame and fry 4-5 balls at a time to a nice golden brown color.
Add the fried jamuns to the sugar syrup and let it soak for 2-3 hours.

Top it with some finely chopped nuts and serve.

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

• Frying the jamuns in the medium flame is very important to get a nicely cooked golden color jamuns.
• Addition of ghee is purely optional but it gives a rich taste.
• While making the balls don't give too much of pressure.
• Rose water can be added for extra flavor.
• This jamun doesn't double in size like the regular jamun so make the desired size you want.

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

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Vanilla Ice-cream /Eggless Vanilla Ice-cream

Who doesn't love ice cream?Ice cream is almost everyone favorite and especially vanilla flavor is the most.
Myself and my hubby are not exceptional,we like ice-cream any time of a day,it doesn't matter if it rains or snows and day or night.
This basic vanilla ice cream tastes as such delicious but its a real treat when it is served with a brownie,mixed along with some fruits or sandwiched between cookies.The options are endless.
This ice cream is an eggless version and no ice cream maker need only with 3 ingredients.Yes only with 3 ingredients,heavy cream,condensed milk and vanilla extract.
I make this ice cream often but never get a chance to click and post it in blog,but finally got a chance to post this ice cream for the dessert theme in Blogging Marathon#35.Off to the recipe.....................................

Basic Information

Preparation Time ~ 15 minutes
Freezing time ~ 6-8 hours
Serves ~ 10 (generously)

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Heavy Cream	21/2cups
Sweetened condensed milk	1 can(396gm/14 oz)
Vanilla Extract	11/2tsp

Method

• Pour the whipping cream in wide mouth bowl and beat it with a hand blender or electric blender it till reaches stiff peak consistency.
• Now add in the condensed milk and fold in,add the vanilla extract and mix it well.

• Make sure everything is mixed properly and transfer it to container with lid.
• Cover the top of the mixture with a plastic wrap or cling wrap to prevent forming the ice crystals from the water droplets.
• Freeze it for 3-4 hours.Now take it out from the freezer and mix it well with a spatula.  
• Freeze it again for at least 6-8 hours.

Top with fruits or chocolate syrup or nuts and serve.

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

• Here I didn't use any extra sugar and the sweetness was enough,if you want it mild you can increase the amount of cream to 3 cups.

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

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Kongu Naadu Kozhi Kulambhu/Kongu Style Chicken Kulambhu

Today's recipe for Tamizhar Samayal Tuesday event is a finger licking chicken kulambhu popular in Kongu region.This is my grand mother's signature recipe and used the country chicken(nattu kozhi) for this recipe.The highlight of this recipe is the aroma of freshly ground spices.But here I used the chicken drumsticks for this recipe you can make it with whole chicken also.This recipe goes very well with rice and idly,dosa,now off to the recipe................

Basic Information

Preparation time ~ 15 minuets
Cooking time ~ 40 minutes
Serves ~ 2-3

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Chicken(with bones)	11/2 lbs
Onion/ vengayam(finely chopped)	1 (medium size)
Tomato(chopped)	2 (medium size)
Ginger&garlic paste	2tsp
Curry leaves/karivepillai	1 sprig
Coriander leaves/kothamalli	1tbs(chopped)
Salt	11/2tsp
Oil	3tbs

To saute and grind

Ingredient	Quantity
Shallots/chinna vengayam	5-6
Red chilly/varamilagai	6-7
Black pepper/milagu	1tsp
Fennel seeds/sombu	1/2tsp
Poppy seeds/kasakasa	1/2tsp
Cumin seeds/jeeragam	1/2tsp
Coconut(grated)	1tbs
Coriander powder/dhaniya podi	2tsp

For Tempering

Ingredient	Quantity
Cloves/lavangam	3-4
Cinnamon/pattai	1' piece
Fennel seeds/sombu	1/2tsp

Method

• Cut and clean the chicken to bite sized pieces and add 1tsp of ginger&garlic paste and turmeric powder,1/2 tsp of salt and mix it well.
• Meanwhile in a tsp of oil saute the given ingredients given except coriander powder for couple of minutes and put off the fire.Finally add the coriander powder and mix it well.Let it cool down and grind it to a fine paste.
• Heat a pan with oil and do the tempering,saute the onion,curry leaves till transparent and add the remaining ginger&garlic paste.Fry it for a minute.
• Add the chopped tomatoes and cook it till mushy,then goes in marinated chicken and mix it well.Let it cook it a medium flame for 5 minutes and stir it in between.
• Now add the ground paste and mix it well,add the salt and 2 cups of water,cook it covered in a medium flame till the chicken gets tender and cooked well.
• Finally sprinkle the chopped coriander leaves and put off the flame.
• Flavorful Kongu Chicken Kulambhu is ready.
• Serve it with rice,idly or dosa.

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

• If you are making this kulambhu for idly or dosa,make it slightly thin.
• My grandmother used shallots for this kulambhu instead of onion for sauteing.
• Adding coconut makes the kulambhu makes it more tasty and delicious so use it.
• Here I used the coriander powder,if you want you can add a tbs of whole coriander while sauteing the other spices.
• Add the coriader powder to the spices after put off the fire otherwise it may get burnt.

This recipe is off to Tamaizhar Samayal Tuesday.

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Aval Paniyaram

For this week CCC, I chose a recipe from Mallika Badrinath's cook book.This paniyaram is an instant version and doesn't need any fermentation.I make this paniyaran often for Friday prasadham for pooja.All you need is just soak the aval/rice flakes and rice for 2 hours,grind it and mix along with  jaggery or sugar.Lets move on to the recipe........................

Basic Information

Soaking Time ~ 2 hours
Preparation time ~ 10 minutes
Cooking time ~ 20 minutes
Makes ~ 30-35

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Raw rice/pacharisi	1cup
Rice flakes/aval	1/2cup
Jaggery/vellam(grated)	1cup
Cardamom/ellakai	4-5
Baking soda	1/8tsp
Salt	1/8tsp
Ghee/nei	3-4tbs

Method

• Soak the rice and rice flakes separately for 2 hours,grind it togethter with a pinch of salt and cardamom to paste.
• Finally add the grated jaggery or sugar and blend it for a minute.Transfer it to a bowl,to this add the baking soda and mix it well.
• Heat a Paniyaram pan with 1/4-1/2 tsp of ghee in each hole,pour the batter till 3/4 th and cook it in a medium flame till it becomes golden.
• Flip it to the other side and cook it for a minute.
• Aval Paniyaram is ready.
• Serve it warm.

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

• Here I used dark brown sugar,so I grind it along with the rice.If you feel the jaggery has lot of impurities,make a syrup with little water,drain it and add to the mixture.
• Making it in the ghee gives a nice flavor and taste,so try to use ghee for this one.
• Cooking it in a medium is very important to get the even coloring.

This recipe is off to Cook Book Challenge #3 December week 3 and Lets Brunch on Sundays event started by Veena and Priya.

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