Maida Burfi/ Maida Cake

Ingredients
Maida / All purpose flour -1/2cup
Sugar - 3/4 cup (adjust to sweet, up to 1 cup)
Ghee - 1/4cup
Food color - few drops
Tutty fruity - 1/8 cup (optional)
Elaichi -2

Method
Heat the ghee and roast the maida. You will get nice aroma and the color of the flour should not change it.
Add a cup of sugar and 3/4 cup of water and start heating.
Once the sugar syrup reaches one string consistency, remove it from stove. Immediately add the roasted maida, food color, tutty fruity and elaichi powder and start mixing.
Keep on mixing it(off the stove), until the flour+sugar syrup reaches halwa consistency.
It will be like liquid, but when cooling it slowly becomes a nonsticky halwa.
By then pour it on a greased plate and level it with a greased spatula.

 Here I have added 3 drops of green food color and red color tutty fruity. Once it cools down completely, remove it from the plate and cut it into desired shape.

This is the recipe from Rak's kitchen. I just followed her recipe. You can check here for step by step pictures and a video.  I felt the sweetness was little more for our palate. Next time  I will reduce it to 3/4 cup. :) 

Diwali Sweets & Snacks 2015

 Hope everyone had a nice Diwali. Here are the sweets and snacks I prepared this year.

 Maida cake/burfi

 Dry gulaab jamoon

Murukku

Mixture

Click on the names to get the recipes..Will post the sweet recipes soon. 

Multigrain Dosai

Ingredients

Wheat flour -1/4cup

Ragi maavu/ Finger millet flour -1/2cup

Kambu maavu/ Bajri flour - 1/2cup

Idli maavu / Idli batter - 1 big ladle

Salt

Water

Oil

Method

Combine wheat flour, ragi flour, bajri flour and salt in a bowl.

 Add a ladle of idli batter..

 Add enough water and mix it like dosa batter without lumps

 Heat a griddle and make dosa. Sprinkle some oil around the dosa, and let it cook.

 Flip the dosa after a few seconds and cook the other side.

Healthy dosa is ready to serve. Serve hot with some tangy, spicy chutney. We had it with tomato chutney. 

Note 
This dosa can be made instantly, just mix  the flours and make dosa right away, how ever you can let it ferment overnight and make dosa too. Personally I prefer the later. :) 

Lauki ki Sabzi/ Bottlegourd Curry / Suraikkai Curry

Ingredients

Suraikkai/Lauki/Bottlegourd -1 (small, approximately 11/2cups, chopped)

Onion (chopped) - 3 tablespoons

Green chilly-1

Tomato - 1

Turmeric powder -1/8 teaspoon

Chilly powder - 11/2 teaspoon

Coriander powder - 1 teaspoon

Cumin seeds - 1/2 teaspoon 

Hing/Asafoetida - a generous pinch

Lemon juice - from half of a lemon

Cilantro - to garnish 

Method

Wash and cube the suraikkai/lauki into big chunks.

Heat oil in a small pressure cooker, add the onions. Sauté until it becomes pink, then add the cumin seeds and hing. Let them splutter.

Add the turmeric powder, chilly powder and coriander powder, fry without burning them.

Add the chopped tomato and keep cooking until it becomes soft.

Now add the veggie, give it a quick stir..

Add required salt and half teaspoon of sugar (optional)..

Add about 1/2 cup of water, close the cooker and cook for a whistle.

Let the pressure settle down, open the cooker add chopped cilantro.

Squeeze the lemon juice and serve warm with roti or rice.

It goes well with idli & dosai too!

Recipe Source : HERE

Thengappoo Rotti / Coconut-Wheat Bread

This dish is a Srilankan dish, which I came to know from my friends. The addition of coconut makes this roti tastier. This can be prepared with all purpose flour/Maida, also. Usually it is served with "Idicha sambal" which is dry coconut chutney, shall post it soon. 

Ingredients

Whole wheat flour -11/2cups

Grated coconut-1/4 cup(can increase more for taste)

Chopped onion-1/2cup(can increase or decrease according to taste)

Green chilly-2(finely chopped)

Few curry leaves

Salt

Water

Method

Combine chopped onion, green chilly, curry leaves(which i haven't used here) in a wide bowl.

Add the whole wheat flour and enough salt.

Mix everything well, sprinkle little water at a time and start kneading.  Knead it into a stiff pliable dough and let it rest for at least one hour. (more time won't hurt)

Make small balls out of the dough. Use dry flour as needed..

Roll them into thin disks as we do for roti's.

Heat a griddle and cook the roti..sprinkle oil and let it cook for a few seconds.

Flip it over, sprinkle more oil and cook on low heat.

When the roti turns golden on both sides

Serve hot with pickle and yogurt.

Note
Add the water carefully as the onions we add in the dough tends to leave water. I have used dry flour to roll the roti's, but traditionally they are patted with hand, with dipping the hands in water often. I will try that method soon and update the recipe here.
Also, be generous with the oil and cook the roti's in low medium heat. Cooking on low heat with lots of oil enhances the taste. 

Bread vadai

Ingredients

Wheat bread - 5 slices

Chopped onion-1/4cup

Green chilly -2 (adjust according to spice level)

Chopped cilantro - 3tablespoons

Chopped ginger-1teaspoon

Few curry leaves

Rice flour - 1/4cup

Thick yogurt- about 1/2cup

Salt

Oil to deep fry

Method

Cut/Tear off the bread sliced into small pieces.

Finely chop the ginger, green chilly and cilantro.

Combine the bread, onion, cilantro, green chilly and salt in a bowl.

Add in the rice flour..

Mix everything well and add the thick yogurt.

knead it into a smooth dough. The dough should be little stiff, as it becomes soggy after some time because of the yogurt and onion we are adding, so be careful with the addition of yogurt. [Keep adding yogurt in small quantities so that u don't end up with soggy dough.]

Now make small golf sized balls out of the dough. Mean while heat the oil for deep frying.

Flatten the balls, and fry them in oil until vadai turns golden on both the sides.

Enjoy with your favorite sauce or chutney and a cup of hot tea!

Recipe Source : HERE

Ellu Kozhukkattai / Sesame Seeds Dumplings

Ingredients

For the outer cover

Idiyappam flour/ Rice flour - 11/2 cups

Salt - a pinch

Coconut oil-1teaspoon

Water- 3/4 cup to 1 cup

For Stuffing

Ellu/Sesame seeds-2tablespoons

Desiccated coconut- 2tablespoons

Elaichi-1

Jaggery/Vellam (powdered)-3tablespoons

Method

Boil the water with a pinch of salt. When it comes to a rolling boil, add a teaspoon of coconut oil.

Immediately pour the water in the rice flour/idiyappam flour. Mix well with a spoon, close it with wet cloth and let it cool.

Meanwhile lets prepare the stuffing.

Powder the elacihi and keep it aside.

Clean and dry roast the sesame seeds until they crackle down. (be careful, don't burn it! :))

Take jaggery in a pan, add very little water..heat it on low flame. Once the jaggery melts, strain it and add the coconut and sesame seeds.

Continue cooking on low heat until the stuffing becomes thick. Add the powdered cardamom, remove it from stove and let it cool.
Take the cooled/warm rice dough, knead it nicely for a few minutes.(If needed apply little ghee on your palms) Make golf ball size balls and flatten them.
Keep a tablespoon of prepared stuffing and close it carefully.

You can just seal the edges like this or make some fancy patterns with your fingers as i did in the later pictures. :)

Heat water in the steamer/idlipot. Once the water is hot and steaming, arrange the prepared kozhukkattai, steam them as we do for idli.

 It took about 6-8 minutes for me to cook. The kozukkattai becomes shiny when done.

 Offer them to Lord Ganesha and serve them warm to your family.

Soft & Sweet nutty kozhukkattai