Rasmalai

Wishing all friends a very happy Tamil New Year and Vishu.

Ras Malai, basically a Bengali sweets made from a cottage cheese in a flavoured milk. I love this sweet, and had tried this in my kitchen several times and usually it comes out very well, my husband use to say that the taste is as store bought. 

Ingredients:
RAS:

Full cream milk – 1litre
Sugar – 1/2 cup
Saffron few strands
Pistachios few
Almonds few
Cardamom powder

Method:

• Crush and Soak the saffron strands in warm milk.
• Chop the nuts into thin slices.
• In a heavy bottom vessel add milk and bring to boil till it reduces to half the quantity, keeping in low flame and stir frequently.





• Then add the sugar, cardamom powder, chopped nuts (reserve few nuts for garnish) and soaked saffron strands along with milk and allow boiling for couple of minutes till the sugar dissolves and then switch off the flame.
• Now the Ras is ready.

Malai:

Full cream milk – 1 litre
Lemon juice – 1 tbsp
Sugar – 1 cup
Water – 3 cups
Cardamom powder – 1tsp

Method:

• In a heavy bottom vessel, boil the milk. Once it starts boiling sim the flame and add lemon juice.
• Now you will see the milk starts separate and curdles, now turn off the heat and strain in the damp cheese cloth or muslin cloth.





• Rinse under the running water to remove the sourness of lemon flavour and hang the cloth to drain the excess water, for 1 hour.





• Remove and open the cloth and knead gently to get soft and pliable dough and make a small balls in gooseberry sized.





• In a pressure cooker add water, sugar and cardamom powder and mix well to gets sugar dissolves and then allow to boil, once it starts boiling drop the panner balls carefully and leave for 5 minutes.





• Then close the lid and pressure cook for 1 whistle and Switch off the stove.
• Open the lid after the pressure releases, you can see the balls doubled in size, soft and spongy.
• Transfer these paneer balls with sugar syrup to another serving bowl and leave it for 1 hour, to absorb the sugar syrup.





• Now gently squeeze the paneer balls from jeera and press between your palms to drain the sugar syrup and add it to the prepared Ras.





• Now the Yummy Rasmalai is ready, garnish with chopped nuts.
• Keep in room temperature for some time and then refrigerate.

Serve chill and enjoy the delicious Rasmalai.

Vankaya Pulusu / Brinjal / Kathirikai Sambar

I packed few veggies from India which was freshly picked from ‘thootam‘. I decided to bring because of its freshness and taste. When my MIL prepared this pulusu it was excellent and tasty.

Ingredients:

Brinjal – 4nos (I used purple colour in long one)
Shallots /Small onions -10 nos
Tomato – 1medium
Toor dhal – 1/2 cup
Tamarind paste – 1tbsp
Jaggery – 1tsp
Turmeric powder -1/4 tsp
Coriander leaves few
Salt to taste

To grind:

Coconut – 2tbsp
Green Chillies – 5no

To temper:

Musturad seeds – 1/4tsp
Curry leaves few
Hing – 1/4tsp
Oil/ghee – 2tsp

Method:

• Pressure cook the toor dhal with enough water by adding turmeric powder and strain the water separately and keep aside.
• Make a smooth paste of coconut and green chillies by adding little water and keep aside.



• Cut the brinjal into desired shapes, including the stem part also.
• Peel the skin of shallots and chop the tomatoes.
• Heat oil in a pan and add the ground paste and sauté for 2 minute to leave the raw smell.



• Then add the chopped brinjal, shallots and tomatoes and fry well. Now add the cooked toor dhal water and close the pan with lid and cook until the brinjal becomes soft.
• Now add the cooked dhal, salt, Tamarind paste and jaggery and mix well and allow boiling for couple of minute.
• Finely season with mustard seeds, curry leaves and hing. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve with hot rice and Vendakai fry.

KhasKhas / Poppy seeds Payasam

Hi friends I am back, after a month long break, actually I was in India for my In-Laws 60th wedding anniversary and family get-to-gether. The trip was very satisfied and did spend quality time with my families. The only thing was bit tired as there were many programs lined up during my stay there. Its nice to be back on track and blogging. And now will try to catch up with you guys. Keep watching this space for some new and exiting recipes which were introduced to me recently.

So, today letz get with poppy seeds payasam, a delicious and healthy payasam. I say its healthy because it cools off your body and removes heat effectively and this recipe is most recommended for summer season. More over it is also used as an effective antiseptic herb. I donno why this is prohibited in some countries like in Singapore. Anyways this payasam is from our favourites list. 

Ingredients:

Poppy seeds/KhasKhas – 1cup

Ghee – 2tsp

Sugar – 1cup
Milk – 2cups

Method:

• Soak the poppy seeds in water for an hour.
• Then strain the water and grind into smooth and fine paste using 1 cup of milk.





• Take a ground paste in a a heavy bottom vessel, along with the remaining milk and add sugar. Mix well before flaming up.
• And that's it, let give some action to ours hands ;) by conitnously stirring the mixture in a low flame to avoid sticking on bottom and till it gets cooked and raw smell leaves. (Approximately it would take 12 – 15 minutes for this step)



• Now add 2tsp of ghee and switch off the flame.

Serve warm or chill.

Note:

• After the paysam cool down it will become thick so while serving add some milk.
• You can garnish with roasted nuts and raisins. I like to have as it is.
• Do not add cardamom powder, poppy seeds has its own flavour and tastes good.
• For a fine and smooth paste, soak the poppy seeds for longer time, In case you have no time you could skip soaking part can directly grind the khas khas.
• To make it more tasty and give a enhanced richness add few cashews and/or almond while grinding the poppy seeds.

Channa Masala

This resturants style, a tastier and super easy to make reciepe can be made at home . It is perfect combo with puris or bhatura. I use to prepare Channa Masala in two different ways, but method used here is most liked by my husband, so I decided to share this reciepe to my blogger friends.

Ingredients:

White Chickpeas – 150 ml
Tomato puree – 1cup
Onion – 2 medium
Ginger & Garlic paste – 1tsp
Green chillies – 2
Cumin seeds – 1/4 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Everest channa Masala powder or garam masala powder – 1 tsp
Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
Coriander powder – 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves few
Lemon juice – 1tsp
Oil – 1tblsp


Method:

• Wash and soak chickpeas for overnight.
• Chop the onion and green chillies.
• Heat oil in a pressure pan and add cumin seeds, when it starts to popup add onions, green chillies, g&g paste and sauté until the raw smell goes away.





• Now add the tomato puree and red chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, salt and channa masala powder and fry for some time till oil starts separating.
• To this add soaked chickpeas along with water and adjust the salt level and mix well.





• Cover with a lid and pressure cook for 5 whistles or till chickpeas get soft.
• Once the pressure releases open the lid and garnish with chopped coriander leaves and lemon juice.

Sprinkle some chopped onions on top and serve hot with puris, bhatura or chapathi.

Note:

• Even can cook the channa separately and follow the same method but cooking channa in the masala, it will blend well and tastes delicious and more over you could save time in preparation.

Thakkali Dosai / Tomato Dosa

I came to know this recipe from my friend Aarthi’s mom. I like her cooking very much and so sweet of her to share some of her recipes to me and tried my own. Usually I don't like the tomato flavor but when I tasted this tomato dosa I started liking it and really enjoyed the flavor too.  It taste very soft and crispy in texture, me and my husband started liking it and added in our regular menu for dinner. Take this opportunity to thank the aunt for sharing such delicious recipes with beautiful tips.

Ingredients:
Idly rice – 1cup
Ripe tomatoes – 2 no
Red chilli – 2
Salt to taste

To coarse paste:
Jeera / cumin seeds – 1/4tsp
Onion – 1no

To temper:
Oil – 1tsp
Mustard seeds – 1/4tsp
Hing – 1/4tsp
Curry leaves few


Method:

• Wash and soak rice for minimum 2 hours.
• Make a coarse paste of onion and cumin seeds and keep aside.





• In a mixer grind the soaked rice along with chopped tomatoes and red chilli into smooth batter by adding little water.





• In this batter mix the coarse paste of onion and cumin seeds, required salt and temper with mustard, curry leaves and hing.
• Heat tawa and pour a batter and drizzle some oil, as u make for normal dosa and cook on both sides.

Serve hot with coconut chutney or sambar!!

Note:

• Adding onion as coarse paste gives crunchy and nice flavor.
• Can also add chopped onions as topping for the dosa instead of grinding.
• Batter will be good for 3 days in a refrigerator.
• The consistency of the batter should be normal dosa batter.