Jalebi for Indian Cooking Challenge - August

Hello Friends,


Nothing says "Celebration" like Jalebi, how many of you dream about eating it. OK, may be none of you. But, I do. When we plan India trip, I dream of this one place where we get really good Doodh Jalebi (meaning Jalebi with milk and cream). They serve it real warm and in those earthen pots. Now, to get that in US is difficult. We do get some decent jalebis, but nothing like homemade, right?


So, when Srivalli  announced Auagust's Indian Cooking Challenge, I was super excited and nervous both. Super excited as I love jalebi and nervous as I had never made them before in my life and I have heard horror stories about them going wrong.


I have to say that it wasn't as bad as I thought. Of course, I didn't get that professional shape and it doesn't look great, but believe me when I say that it tasted delicious and with warm milk, it reminded me of that old place :)


So, without further ado, here is the recipe. I have one more jalebi recipe bookmarked that I have to try, may be later !!!

Jalebi - जलेबी (Deep Fried Indian Dessert Soaked in Simple Sugar Syrup)

Ingredients

For the Jalebi batter

All purpose flour / Maida - 100 gm

Curds / Yoghurt - 1 cup 

Lime juice - 1 tsp 

Cornstarch - 30 gm 

Hot oil - 1 tbsp 

a large pinch of saffron color

pinch of salt
For the Sugar Syrup

Sugar - 1 cup 

Water - ½ cup 

Lime juice - 1 tsp
Oil for deep frying

Preparation

• Mix everything listed under batter till smooth.
• Keep it on the counter overnight for fermentation. Make sure that your jalebi batter is not too thin and can be pressed into spiral shape without disintegrating in water. It should be that of thick cake batter consistency or thinner than cookie dough consistency.
• Next day, heat oil for deep frying.
• While oil is heating, take sugar, lime juice and water in a separate pot and let it come to boil.
• Let it boil till it forms a one-thread consistency syrup (to check one-thread consistency, take a drop of syrup between your thumbs and index finger and slowly pull your fingers apart and it should form a thread).
• At this point, switch off the heat, but keep the syrup warm when dunking fried jalebis in it.
• Prepare jalebi batter for frying by pouring it into  a zip log bag and then making a very small hole at the end of the ziplock to dispense the batter. Take care in making a small hole, as we don't want really thick spirals.
• Once oil is hot (it has to be really hot to make them crispy), slowly dispense batter into the hot oil in spiral motion forming concentric circles of about 2-4 inches in diameter.
• Don't worry, if you don't get a perfect shape as after dunking them in syrup, everything will taste great, lol
• Once they are deep fried, gets a nice golden color (make sure they are not fried too much), dip them directly in the suryp. Keep them in syrup only for about 20-30 seconds and remove them.
• Continue making all jalebis till batter is done. Take care to make only as many jalebis in the hot oil as many the pot can hold as they expand or fluff a bit after frying and if they are crowded, they won't be cooked well. In a regular pot, you can fry upto 5 jalebis of my size at one time.
• From the measurements I gave, I made about 25 jalebis of 2.5 inch diameter.

Serving

Serve it just as it is, but warm is the best way to go. Or serve it the way we like, dipped in milk and topped with malai (cream).

That's all for now. Take care till next post.

Punjabi Aam Ka Achar - पंजाबी आम का आचार (Punjabi Mango Pickle) for ICC

Hello Friends,

I am so happy to post this month's Indian Cooking Challenge recipe. This is the first time, I kind of tried making achar (pickle) at home and boy, was I happy. Happy is an understatement, I was ecstatic :)

I would like to thanks Valil for picking such a wonderful and authentic recipe. Don't get alarmed by the amount of salt (I reduced it to 4 from 5 tbsp). It is needed and doesn't make the pickle too salty.

So, without further ado, here it is.

Punjabi Aam Ka Achar - पंजाबी आम का आचार (Punjabi Mango Pickle)

Ingredient

Raw Mangoes - 2.175 cups (I would say 2 cups and about 1/4 cup more)

Mustard oil - 3 tbsp + 1 tsp (I did not have mustard at the time, so used olive oil instead and loved it, plus it is healthier)

Preparation

• Wash and towel dry whole green mangoes (without cutting them)
• Cut them in desired shape, I cut mine in 1 inch cubes. Spread them on a paper or kitchen towel, keep them in sun for the entire day (so that any moisture remaining in them is gone and they dry up pretty well as then they suck up the spices nicely).
• Meanwhile, mix the spices in a bowl (big enough for you to toss with mango pieces)
• While mango pieces are dying, wash and thoroughly dry a big enough glass or porcelain jar as well.
• Once the mango pieces have dried for a day, mix it with spices and store in the dried jar.
• Add enough oil to drown the mango pieces in the jar.
• Next day, put the jar in the sun for the rest of the day.
• Bring in the jar in the evening and you can start enjoying it right then.
• But, for a better taste, let it be like that soaking in spices and oil for 10-15 days. 
• Don't forget to shake the jar well once a day (no need to keep in sun anymore).

Serving

Serve it with roti or naan. It just adds that little something to every meal.

That's all for now. Take care till next post.

Mix the Spices:

Salt - 4 tbsp

Methi / Fenugreek seeds - 2 tsp

Kalonji / Nigella seeds - 1 tsp

Saunf / Fennel Seeds -  2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 2 tsp

Whole Peppercorns - 1 tsp

Sugar - 1/2 tsp 

Iyengar Style Khara Biscuit - Indian Cooking Challenge

Hello Friends,


I am positing for Indian Cokoing Challenge after a long time. I am really sad that I missed the old ones due to some reason or the other. But, I am so glad that I tried this one. Loved the results and so without further ado, here is the recipe and source.


This month, Srivalli, picked a delicious and very Indian snack from Champs'a blog called Iyengar Style Khara Biscuit. Please visit her blog for more details and the beautiful pictures.


Iyengar Style Khara Biscuit

Ingredients
Maida (All Purpose Flour) - 2 cups
Butter - 1/3 cup, melted
Sugar - 4 tsp
Salt - 2 tsp
Green Chilies - 1tbsp, ground, or per your taste
Cilantro - 3 tbsp, finely chopped
Yogurt - 3-4 tbsps
Prepartion

• Preheat oven to 350 degree F.
• Whisk dry ingredients together.
• Now, cream butter and sugar till creamy and slowly add dry ingredients to it along with yogurt. Initially only add 3 tbsp and then if needed you can add more. We want the dough to be crumbly and not soft.
• Once it is all mixed together, take it out of the mixer and mix green chilies and cilantro with hand and make it into a ball shape. Add more yogurt if needed.
• Divide the dough in 2 and roll the one part in 1/4" thickness.
• Cut the rolled dough in desired shape till all the dough is rolled and cut.
• Now, take a baking sheet, spread a parchment paper and place the cut biscuits little far apart.
• Bake them in oven for 25-30 min. or till you see a nice gold color (I removed them way too early and could have baked little more).

Serving
You can serve them warm right out of oven or store in airtight container. Eat them anytime or serve them traditionally with evening tea or coffee.


That's all for now. Take care till next post.

Guajarati Dal from Sukham Ayu for ICC

Hello friends,


I know I am probably the last one posting this. I missed last 2 Indian Cooking Challenge, so had to do this one as I love this dal. My picture is not so great due to using store bought tamarind pulp (forgot to soak fresh tamarind and compromised with store bought, so, the color is darker), but let me tell you that the taste wasn't compromised :)


Gujarati Dal (from Sukham Ayu)

Ingredients
Split red gram (Toor dal) ½ cup
Turmeric powder ½ tsp 
Tamarind pulp 2 tbsp
Jaggery 1-3 tsp, as per preference
Yam 4-5 pieces, 1 inch cubes
Groundnuts 1 tbsp
Green chillies 2, slit 
Ginger 1 inch piece, chopped fine
Coriander powder 2 tsp 
Cumin powder 1 tsp 
Garam masala (refer tip, p. 49) ¼ tsp
Coriander leaves to garnish
Powdered rock salt to taste
The tempering 
Cow's ghee (Clarified Butter) 2 tsp
Mustard seeds ½ tsp
Fenugreek seeds ¼ tsp
Cumin seeds ½ tsp
Dry red chillies  2
Asafoetida powder ¼ tsp 
Curry leaves 5-6
Ingredients

• Cook Toor Dal with turmeric till it is nice and soft (mushy).
• Churn the dal (mash it is the word if you do not understand churn) and add everything except garam masala and tempering along with 1-2 cups of water (depending on the consistency you want to go for). I did not change the pans here and added everything in the same cooker which I used to cook the dal.
• Let it simmer for 15-20, but mixing every 3-4 min and making sure the dal doesn't stick to the bottom.
• Turn off the heat.
• Take ghee in a non-stick pan (small for tempering).
• Add all the seeds together and let them pop (fenugreek seeds must turn brown).
• Add the rest of the tempering ingredients in and fry till nice aroma comes (about 20-30 seconds).
• Add this hot tempering and garam masala in the cooked dal and cook for another 5 minutes before serving.

Serving
Serve it with hot rice (like I did) or with nice chapati/roti.


That's all for now. Take care till next post.

Kashmiri Dum Aloo for ICC December

Hello friends,


Here is another month and another ICC (Indian Cooking Challenge). But, what I loved about this month is that I tried a new cooking technique called "Dum". It is basically sealing your cooking utensil tight and cooking the food on low flame such that it gets cooked under pressure in its own steam and juices. Loved the process.

This recipe comes from here. It is a very elaborate recipe and very easy to follow. Initially when I had heard the name, I thought wow, it must be complicated with lots of ingredients etc. etc., but believe it was that easy and with so many less ingredients as well. Do try and love the end product. Here is how I did it.


Kashmiri Dum Aloo - कश्मीरी दम आलू (Baby Potatoes Cooked in Yogurt Gravy Under Pressure)


Ingredients

Baby Potatoes - 2 pounds
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp, roasted gently and ground into a powder
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Kashmiri red chillies - 3-4, roasted and powdered
Fresh Yoghurt - 2 1/2 cups (must not be sour)
Ginger Powder - 1 tsp
Fennel/Aniseed Powder - 1 tbsp
Green Cardamom Powder - 1/2 tsp
Mustard Oil - 2 tbsps
Cloves - 6, roasted and powdered
Asafoetida - A pinch
Oil - to deep fry potatoes
Salt - to taste
Water - 1/2 cup
A cup of firm dough made from flour and water

Preparation

• Wash and deskin your baby potatoes (I do not like skin on the potatoes, but traditionally, I guess they are cooked with skin on, so take your pick).
• Poke them with fork multiple times and keep in salted water (submerged) for about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, mix fennel powder, green cardamom powder, kashmiri chili powder, salt soaked baby potatoes in yogurt and keep it aside.
• Now, take a pan on heat and add mustard oil in it.
• Add, clove powder and asafoetida in it and mix well.
• Add water and let it come to boil.
• Now, add yogurt mixture and mix it well.
• Now, put the lid of the pan and seal it tightly with wheat dough (as shown in picture).
• Cook in on slow flame for about 20 min. or till potatoes are cooked.
• Break the seal, add cumin powder and garam masala and mix well and close the lid back.
• Turn the heat off and let it sit for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Serving
Serve it with hot poori or naan as the best choice.


That's all for now. Take care till next post.

Punjabi Kadi Pakoda for October Indian Cooking Challenge

Hello friends,

When I heard and read about ICC (Indian Cooking Challenge) for October, of course, I had to prepare it right away. I was (am) going away on a 5 week trip to India, and so, even before I saw the recipe, I had already requested Srivalli that I won't be able to participate in this month's ICC. But, once I saw the recipe, I had to make it.

This is a very frequently made recipe in my house and loved by all. Usually, when I make it, I try to make it enough for at least 2 meals or people get angry... lol

This recipe is very similar to the one I make. I have a few kadhi recipes on my blog, so please do check them out as well.

Punjabi Kadi Pakoda - पंजाबी कड़ी पकोड़ा (Onion Fritters in Chickpea Flour and Yogurt Gravy)

Ingredients

For Pakoras
Besan / Chickpea Flour - 1/2 cup
Onions - 1 medium
Salt to taste
Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Water
Oil for Deep frying
For Kadi
Curds / Yogurt - 1 cup
Besan/ chickpea flour - 1/3 cup
Water - 3 - 4 cups
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds- 1 tsp
Ajwain/ Carom Seeds- 1 tsp
Methi / Fenugreek seeds- 1 tsp
Onion -1 large
Turmeric powder a pinch
Salt to taste
Red Chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Amchur/ Dried Mango powder - 1 tsp
Preparation
For the Pakoras

• Slice onions lenghtwise. In a bowl, take the chickpea flour, add salt, red chili powder. Make a batter with water to get a semi thick consistency.
• Heat a pan/ kadai with oil. When it is hot, dip onions in the batter and gently drop into the hot oil. Deep fry until crispy.
• Drain and keep aside.

For the kadhi

• Make a paste with yogurt and besan, then mix with water to make a very thin batter.
• Heat a tbsp of oil. Add a tsp each of mustard seeds, cumin seeds, carom seeds and methi. Let splutter for a few seconds.
• Add onion slices, fry till they turn light brown.
• Pour in the yogurt/besan batter, add turmeric powder, salt and red chilli powder.
• Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and let simmer for at least half an hour.
• Keep stirring occasionally.
• When you feel it is pretty thick, add the reserved pakoras, bring to boil. Add garam masala and Amchur powder to the gravy just before removing from stove.

Serving

Serve them with warm rice or roti/paratha (bread) as you may like. My favorite is of course hot rice.

That's all for now.  Take care till next post.

Baris (Sun Dried Spicy Black Gram Lentil Dumplings) for Indian Cooking Challenge

Hello friends,

First of all I want to thank Srivalli for allowing me to post this so late on 16th. As you all may know my husband and my older son have been sick for a week. They are almost to normal now. Thanks to all the wishes that came their way.

If you have never heard of Indian Cooking Challenge or participated in one, please check the link and go for it. It is such a great way to try new things which in normal way, you may not try as you may not know about it, or think it is complex or otherwise.

I have to tell you how much I loved the outcome. It was spicy and you could just smell it when it was being baked.

Baris (Sun Dried Spicy Black Gram Lentil Dumplings)

Ingredients
Urad/urd/urid or black gram dal, skinless - 2 1/4 cups
Cauliflower - 1.5 cups

Ginger - 1/2 cup

Green chillies or more - 3/4 cup

Cleaned coriander leaves, washed and drained - 1/2 cup

Black cardamom seeds, coarsely ground - 1/4 cup

Whole Panch Pooran - 1/4 cup

Coarsely ground red chillies - 3/4 cup

Coarsely ground black pepper - 1/3 cup

Fennel or sonf seeds, coarsely ground - 1/4 cup

Cloves, coarsely ground or pounded - 1.5 tbsp

Whole cumin seeds - 1.5 tbsp

Cumin powder - 1.5 tsp

Black cumin seeds - 1.5 tbsp

Mace powder - 1 tsp (I did not have and so could not use)

Nutmeg - 1/4 tsp, freshly grated

Asefoetida or hing powder - 1 tbsp
Salt - as per taste
Preparation

• Firstly, coarsely grind the urad dal and mix it well with water in a big enough bowl (make sure it is big as this is bowl where we will leave it to ferment and rise overnight).
• Once the whole batter is wet (not runnym, just wet), add about 1/2 cup water more to it and leave it still aside for couplke of hours (I left it for 2 hours).
• After couple of hours, scoop out a bit of batter from top, add asefoetida and no need to mix and pour the batter back. If the batter at this point is too dry and stiff, add about 1/4 cup more water.
• Leave the bowl still for fermenting overnight. It will also rise.
• Once it has fermented overnight, grind green chili, ginger and coriander and mix it well in batter along with everything else that is listed in ingredients list. Once mixed, it should be of scoopable consistency. If it is not, feel free to sprinkle some more water.
• Immediately grease a plate or cloth and scoop out batter little by little in bari shape (check my pic, if you have no idea how they look). You can place them real close to each other as they don't swell and rather shrink after drying up.
• Now comes the drying part, you can do it 2 way (and I tried both). (1), heat your oven to 275 degree F and bake your baris in that for 2 hours, with flipping then half way. (2) sun dry them (the traditional way) for 2-3 days depending on how much sun you get, till they are bone dry.
• Once all dried up, save them in dry place and if want to save them for future, feel free to bag them and freeze them :)

Serving
This can be used as a main ingredient in lots of curries, rice and stuffed paratha preparation. Wait for recipes to come using this.

That's all for now. Take care till next post.

Kara Sev - Indian Cooking Challenge

Hello friends,


For Indian Cooking Challenge, SriValli selected something I guess loved by most, but I had never had them before, or may be had but never knew what it was. Anyways, I was up for it. But, guess what I procrastinated till the end, I mean literally the end. Today is 15th and almost end of it and I just finished making them. And, now, both my boys, yes, both, one who is 5.5 years old and the little one who is 10 months old, are enjoying it alike... lol


So, without further delay, here is the recipe. I reduced the quantity based on Bhagyashri's post as I didn't want to try it with the whole quantity. Let me tell you, I was not very sure how they will come, but they gave me a surprise and came out beautifully. I made them using my Murukku Achhu (press) and used both the very thin sev press and the crispy edged one as well, sorry, can't explain them well, but you will see them in the pics... lol


Kara Sev - A Crispy Snack made from Chick Pea and Rice Flour

Ingredients
Besan (Chick Pea Flour) - 1 cup
Chawal Ka Aata (Rice Flour) - 2 tbsp
Ghee (Clarified Butter) - 3 tbsp
Lal Mirch (Red Chilli) Powder - 1/4 tsp
Kali Mirch (Black Pepper) Powder - 1/4 tsp
Garlic - 2 pods, minced
Salt - as per taste
Oil - for deep frying
Water - to make the dough
Preparation

• Mix everything together except oil and water well.
• It will be slightly crumbly, not much though.
• Now, sprinkle water, very little at a time and mix it into a smooth dough.
• Heat oil in a pan and test it, it should be hot enough for your sev to sizzle up right away.
• Take a little dough at a time and add it to the murukku press and press it down in desired shape in hot oil.
• Remove when it is golden brown and drain on the paper before storing them in airtight container.

Serving
Serve them anytime as a snack. I will tell you another secret use of it. Crumble and top them for your upma/poha/kadhi. My son and husband loves it that way and we usually buy Sev for this, so this time they have home made.


That's all for now. Take care till next post.

Golgappa / Pani Puri - गोलगप्पा / पानी पूरी (A Hot and Sweet Indian Snack/Street Food) for Indian Cooking Challenge

Hello friends,


I commented on the challenge blog saying, can it get any better than this? Golgappa. Srivalli, came up with an excellent idea this month to make this all time favorite snack for ICC. This is something that we eat if we are not feeling well or eat more if we are feeling better. Do you know, we used to go and eat golgappa if we wanted to get over our cold or even fever for that matter. I know it is not prescribed (so don't try it), but we just needed any and every excuse to snack on it. And, then we will say "bhaiya, zara teekha jyada karana" (meaning, brother, please make it little spicier). Can you believe how expensive they have become in recent past?


Anyways, here is how I did it. The picture was assembled and taken by N (my husband).


Golgappa / Pani Puri - गोलगप्पा / पानी पूरी  (A Hot and Sweet Indian Snack/Street Food)

Ingredients
For Golgappa/Pani Puri
Sooji (Semolia) - 1 cup
Maida (All Purpose Flour - 1 tbsp
Salt - as per taste
Oil - 2 tbsp
Water - to mix the dough (very little)
Oil - for deep frying

For Spicy Pani or Spicy Water
Chopped Mint Leaves 1 1/2 cups
Chopped Coriander Leaves 1 tbsp.
Tamarind 1/3 cup
Ginger 1"
Green Chillies 4 to 5
Ground Cumin Seed (roasted) 1 tsp.
Kala Namak (Black Salt ) 1 1/2 tsp.
Salt to taste
For Filling
Potato Filling
Potato (Boiled) - 2 medium ones
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Lentil Filling
Dry Split Yellow Peas - 1/2 cup (soak them overnight)
Salt to taste
Chili powder 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder
Garam masala powder 1/4 tsp
For Red Tamarind Chutney
Tamarind 1 cup
Jaggery 1/2 cup
Sugar 2 tbsp.
Red chilli powder 1/2 tsp
Dry Roasted cumin powder 1 tsp
Kali Mirch (Black pepper) powder 1/4 tsp.
Cloves 2
Warm water 2 cups
Oil 1 tsp.
Salt to taste
Preparation

For Golgappa/Pani Puri

• Mix sooji, maida, salt, oil and little watter into a stuff dough.
• Cover with a cheese/muslin cloth for about an hour or longer
• Pinch a small lemon size ball and roll it out into a thin layer
• Cut the rolled dough with cookie cutter into about 1.5-2 inch diameter circles (depending on how big you can put in your mouth, as these golgappas are usually eaten whole)
• Fry them in real hot oil for about 10-15 seconds on each side. (they will automatically puff, no need to try anything else).
• Drain them in paper towel and store them in air-tight container once they are cool enough.

For Spicy Pani or Spicy Water

• Grind everything into  a paste
• Add water  to make it desired consistency (and as per taste) and keep it in fridge to chill

For Filling

Potato Filling

• Finely mash potato and mixed with salt and red chilli.

Lentil Filling

• Cook yellow peas with salt till they are well cooked
• Drain and cook with the masalas till aroma comes out

For Red Tamarind Chutney

• Grind everything into a paste or liquid and adjust seasoning per your taste

Serving

There are different ways to serve it in different places. This is how we eat it. Make a hole in the puffed golgappa with your finger, fill it with potato and lentil filling (we usually mix potato and lentil filling by adding some finely chopped onion, cilantro and green chillies per your taste). Then dip it in spicy or sweet chutney and enjoy. I like to sometimes mix spicy and sweet chutney and then dip my golgappa in that and eat. My husband likes to eat it topped with dahi.

So, enjoy them with anything you like. After all, it is a feel-good snack :)

That's all for now. Take care till next post.

Ras Bhari Rasmalai - ICC Challenge

Hello friends,


Yet another delicious challenge for ICC. I always loved Ras Malai, but never in my wildest dreams thought of making it at home. But, here was an opportunity and shall I say I passed in flying colors. They were the best ras malai I ever had. The softest, milky, sweet cootage cheese balls.


With the measurements mentioned below, it took me about 2 hours from start to finish and I could make about 20 balls.


Ras Malai - रस मलाई (Cottage Cheese Balls in Milk and Sugar Syrup)

Ingredients
For Making Paneer Balls
Milk - 2 liters (8.5 cups)
Lemon Juice - 2 tbsp
Maida (All Purpose Flour) - 1.5 tsp
For Making Sugar Syrup
Water - 3 cups
Sugar - 8 tbsp
For Making Milk Syrup
Milk - 1 liter (4.25 cups)
Sugar - 8 tbsp
Kesar (Saffron) - few strands
Ilaichi (Cardamom) Powder - 1/2 tsp
Preparation
Preparing Paneer Balls

• Take a thick bottomed pan and boil milk.
• Once milk starts boiling, reduce the heat to low setting, add lemon juice to it and mix well.
• Within 5 minutes the chhena (paneer) should be separated from whey water.
• Now, take a muslin cloth or cotton towel, place it in a colander and separate chhena from whey water.
• Save whey water to be used to make doughs or for soups for later.
• Now, tie the towel tightly and keep it for 30 min. to 1 hour, so that all the moisture is gone from chhena
• Take the chhena in a bowl and mix it well with hands for few min. till it becomes all smooth.
• Add the maida to chhena and mix well again.
• Now, make this chhena mix into small sized balls (see the pic).

Preparing Sugar Syrup and Boiling Paneer Balls

• Bring water and sugar to boil in a pressure pan or cooker (if you use a normal pan with lid, the cooking time can be increase by 10 more min.)
• Once sugar syrup starts boiling, add paneer balls from the step above slowly and then cover the lid of the cooker and let it boil for about 10 min (with the weight kept on the cooker).
• Once the cooker is cold and cover is removed, squeeze these balls lightly to remove excess syrup from them.

Milk Syrup

• Heat milk in a thick bottomed pan.
• Once it comes to boil, reduce heat and let it simmer till it has almost reduced to half in quantity.
• Add sugar, saffron and ilaichi powder and let it cook for few more min.
• Remove it from gas.

Assembling Ras Malai

• Add Rasgulla Balls in Milk syrup while milk syrup is hot.
• Let them rest in the milk syrup for at least 2-4 hours before serving.
• They are ready to be served (if you like them hot) or feel free to refrigerate if you would like them cold.

Serving
Serve them hot or cold (as you prefer) with some chopped pistachios on top. Back when and where I grew up, we always ate them warm and it was served with warm milk syrup and that is how both my husband and I like it.


That is all for today. On this sweet note, take care till next post.

Sago Muruku for ICC

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MY FELLOW BLOGGERS FROM VARIOUS STATES OF INDIA, CELEBRATING THEIR NEW YEAR !!!


So, here I was planning to make "Sago Muruku" for ICC (Indian Cooking Challenge) chosen by Srivalli, but lacked a very important thing, which I know is surely going to play a big role in how my end product looks.  And, that was the muruku achhu. I know I had it once given by mom, but during several moves that I had to undertake, I lost it somewhere :(


Anyways, with real brave heart I started. I used "Ziplock" bag as many fellow bloggers suggested. One important thing I will tell you guys trying it at home is using ziplog is that never fill a lot dough in the bag or else the bag will burst from many places and the dough will ooze from those holes as well :(


Initially, I made a small hole and tried it, but it was like taking forever, so I cut the whole little bigger and made big size "cyllindrical" muruku, I guess my own invention... lol. The thinner ones that I made were immediately consumed by my 5 yr.old and they never could be clicked, so you will have to deal with the bad big ones. But, they were no less in taste. Don't go on the shape and ugliness, but they came yummy as I said before my 5 yr. old was ready to consume all. They were really cripsy and yummy, if I can say so myself.


I am guessing icing bag might be the next best idea after achhu. Next time, I will try that and update the blog's picture as well.


Sago Muruku - सागो मुरुकू (Fritters made with a combination of rice flour/chick pea flour/dried gram flour/tapioca)

Ingredients
Chawal ka aata (Rice Flour) - 2 cups
Besan (Chick Pea Flour) - 1/2 cup
Chutney Dal (Fried Gram Flour) - 1/2 cup (ground to powder)
Sago (Tapioca) - 1/2 cup
Yogurt - 1/4 cup (turned into buttermilk, add little water while doing it)
Hot Oil - 1/4 cup
Salt - as per taste
Chilli Powder - as per taste
Preparation

• Soak sago in buttermilk for 3 hours. Make sure they are all the way soaked. If they are not soft enough, soak them for some more time. I had to do it for about 4 hours.
• Add all the dry ingredients with hot oil. 
• Now, drain sago from buttermilk and mix it in the above mixture. Please do not add sago with the buttermilk or else you will have a very sticky dough (experience...lol)
• Now, add buttermilk little but little as needed and make it like a chapati dough. My experience says, you will be left with some buttermilk at the end.
• Heat oil in a kadai (wok)
• Take the muruku dough litlle by little (lemon to orange sized ball) in the muruku mould or ziplock bag or icing bag (whichever you are using) and press them into desired shape straight in the oil.
• Keep the oil on the medium setting and fry them slowly. If they become golden soon due to hot oil, they won't be cripsy from inside.

Serving
Serve them as a snack anytime. A perfect item for snack-box in any season.


If you really want to see stepp-by-step preparation nicely, please check Srivalli's blog as she has done it wonderfully.

Ariselu / Aathirasallu for February Indian Cooking Challenge

A wonderful Indian Traditional dish tried out for Indian Cooking Challenge. It was a real challenge for me as I have eaten it only a few times as my mom did not make it that much. But, shall I say, I loved the experience.


I tried Recipe 1 of the challenge.

Ariselu (अरिसिलू)
Makes 4-5 pieces of regular poori size

Ingredients

Raw Rice - 1 cup
Jaggery - 3/4 cup (I did not have paku jaggery, so I used the normal one we get in all grocery stores)
Sesame Seeds - 2 tsp or less
Khas-Khas (Poppy Seeds) - 1/4 tsp
Cardamom powder - a pinch
Preparation

• Soak rice for about 6 hrs and then shade dry it (don't dry it in sun and not too long, it should still be lightly wet but not wet enough that it becomes a paste, we need to make a powder by grinding it). 
• Grind the dry rice to fine powder using mixie. The rice flour should have that texture of soft and wet feeling when you take a handful and also it should kind of retain your fist shape.
• Take water that is enough to dilute jaggery in a wide pan. Dissolve the jaggary. Remove any impurities that may be present. Then again cook till the pakam is ready. Please make it into a 3-thread syrup.
• Once syrup is ready, remove it from fire, and add poppy seeds, and cardamom. Mix well. Then slowly add the rice flour and keep mixing well. The consistency is very important, so you need to add the flour little by little. Mix till you get a chapati dough consistency. End of this, you may still have some flour left out.
• Divide into lemon size balls. Grease a plastic sheet and your fingers. Place the ball on the sheet, and pat it down to a poori size.
• I added Sesame seeds at this stage (if you want you can add them before when mixing khas-khas). Just sprinkle a little over each arisi (poori).
• Heat oil for frying and slowly drop these discs into the hot oil. You can simmer for a while until you know the inside is cooked. Turn to the other side and cook till its golden in color.
• Once done, remove and drain on a Kitchen towel.

Serving

Just serve it as a dessert or anyway you like it. It can also be eaten as just a handy snack :)


Guess what, it was my first time beating rice at home and my first time making jaggery pakam. The final product didn't hold as good as on this picture, but tasted super yummy.


Till next post, take care.


~ Priya