Deepavali Legiyam ( Deepavali Marunthu)

                            Deepavali Legiyam ( Deepavali Marunthu)

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Soaking Time: 3 hours

Ingredients:
Sesame Oil: 1 table spoon
Coriander Seed (Dania): 1 table spoon
Jeera: 2  tea spoons
Pepper (Whole): 2 tea spoons
Omam or Ajwain: 1/2 tea spoon
Dry ginger powder (Sukku): 1/2 tea spoon
Powdered jaggery: 1/4 cup
Ghee: 2 tea spoons

Method:
1. Soak dania, jeera, omam and pepper in hot water for 3 hours.
2. After 3 hours, add all the soaked ingredients to a mixie jar along with sukku powder and grind it into a fine paste using the water used for soaking.
3. Once the paste is ready, keep it aside.
4. Place a pan on the stove, put in the pounded jaggery and little water, melt it over a medium flame.
5. Put off the flame and filter the jaggery liquid to take out the impurities from it.
6. Place another pan on the stove top over a medium flame. pour in 1 table spoon of sesame oil to it and heat it.
7. When the oil is hot, add the fine paste to it and mix it thoroughly. Add the jaggery liquid and mix it well. Simmer it for 20 minutes or till it thickness.
8. The oil will separate from the legiyam and appear on the top. Put off the flame, while it is hot add 2 tea spoons of ghee and mix it well. Now the Deepavali Legiyam is ready.

Note:
1. This legiyam stays well for a week, it helps in digestion.

Mixture

                                                            Mixture
 
Preparation Time: 1and 1/2 hours                                                                     Ratio
                                                                                                           For Boondi:
                                                                                                                    4 : 1
                                                                                                      Besan flour : Rice flour
                                                                                                           For Ompodi:
                                                                                                                    3 : 1
                                                                                                      Besan flour : Rice flour  

kara Boondi:

Ingredients:
Besan flour: 1 cup
Rice flour: 1/4 cup
Salt to taste
Chilli powder: 1/4 tea spoon
Asfoetida: 2 pinch
Yellow food color or Turmeric powder: A pinch
Water as needed
Oil for frying

Method:
1. Fry the boondis as mentioned in the Mothichur Laddu post. Keep it aside.
2. Make sure to fry the boondis in the hot oil till, all the bubble settles down, so that it will be crisp.
3. Let the kara boondi cool to room temperature.
                                     
Om Podi:
Ingredients:
Besan flour: 3/4 cup
Rice flour: 1/4 cup
Omam or Ajwain seeds: 1/4 tea spoon (to be soaked in water)
Salt to taste
Butter: 1/2 tea spoon or 15 gms
Yellow food color: A pinch
Oil for frying
water as needed 

Method:
1. Take a bowl, add in sieved besan flour and rice flour. Add salt as to taste.
2. Melt butter in a small pan, when it melts completely and becomes a liquid, put off the flame. Add this to the rice & besan flour.
3. Add on water used to soak the omam or ajwain seed to the flour mixed in the bowl.
4. Now add water little by little and knead it into a soft dough.
5. Now heat enough oil to fry in a heavy bottomed pan.
6. Now take the murukku presser with om podi mould and fill it with the dough.
7. Squeeze or press this dough gently into the hot oil and fry till bubble settle down. Now drain the oil from the fried om podi and take it out.
8. Now fry rest of the dough as mentioned above.
9. Let the om podi cool to room temperature and keep it aside.
  
 Maida Biscuit

Ingredients:
Maida: 1 cup
Butter:1 tea spoon
Sugar (Powdered): 3 tea spoons
Salt a pinch
Oil for frying 
Water as needed

Method:
1. Take a bowl add in sieved maida.
2. Melt butter in a small pan ( as mentioned for ompodi) and add it to the sieved maida.
3. Add powdered sugar and salt to it.
4. Now add water little by little and knead it into a soft dough and let it rest for 5 minutes.
5. Now take lemon sized balls from the dough and roll out into a circle (it should be neither thick nor thin).
6. Using a sharp knife cut it into the shape of a diamond or square. Transfer the cut dough into a plate and keep it ready for deep frying.
7. heat oil in a kadai over medium flame. Drop these square one by one into the oil and deep fry until both sides turn golden brown. Remove from oil and drain it on a steel strainer.
8. Let it cool to room temperature.

The other things needed for Mixture:

Ingredients:
Dried ground nuts: 1/4 cup
Fried gram or Pootukadalai: 1/4 cup
Thin flattened rice (Aval - white): 1/4 cup
Curry leaves: A handful

Method:
1. In the same oil, fry the ground nuts, drain the excess oil and keep it aside.
2. Fry the fried gram (Pottukadali), drain the excess oil and keep it aside.
3. In the same manner fry the aval, grain the excess oil and keep it aside.
4. In the remaining oil fry the curry leaves and allow it to splutter. When the spluttering stops, take the curry leaves, drain the excess oil and keep it aside.

 Now Mixture:
1. Take a wide big bowl.
2. Add kara boondi to it, add ompodi to it, add in maida, fried ground nuts, fried pottukadalai, fried aval and fried curry leaves.
3. Add 2 tea spoons of fine pepper powder into it and mix thoroughly. Now the mixture is ready. Store the mixture in an air tight container.

Note:
1. Adding pepper powder to the mixture gives it nice aroma and flavor, as the pepper blends well with every ingredient of the mixture.
2. The mixture stays well for a fortnight, if handled with dry hands or dry spoon.
 
 

Thattai (Nippet)

                 

                                 Thattai (Nippet)

 

 

Preparation Time: 30 minutes                                                                             Ratio
Cooking Time: 1 hour                                                                                         1 : 1/2
Soaking Time: 2 hours                                                                        Boiled Rice : Fried Gram

Ingredients:
Boiled rice or Idli rice: 1 cup
Powdered Fried gram (Pottukadalai): 1/2 cup
Salt as needed
Red chili: 2 nos
Soaked & dried Bengal gram and Moong dhal: 2 tea spoon
Cut Curry leaves: A few nos
Asfoetida: 1/4 tea spoon
Butter: 25 gms

Method:
1. Soak idli rice for 2 hours and grind it into fine paste adding little water and red chilies.
2. take this paste in a bowl, add powdered fried gram, mix it well, knead into a soft dough, add salt, asfoetida, curry leaves and soaked and dried gram, moong dhal and knead well.
3. Tale lemon sized ball and flatten it evenly, should be as thin as possible using your fingers.
4. Dry this on a cotton cloth preferably dhoti.
5. Prick the thattai using a fork to prevent it from puffing while frying.
6. Let it dry for 10 minutes.
7. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed kadai over a medium flame.
8. When the oil is hot fry 2 to 3 thattais at a time.
9. Wait till the bubbles settle down, now drain oil and take it out.
10. Fry the remaining thattais and cool it.
11. Store it in an air tight container.

Note:
1. Stays well for a fortnight.
2. Make sure to cool before storing, because while hot if you close the lid, the water vapour which would form may spoil.

Motichur Laddu

                                                      Motichur Laddu

Preparation Time: 10minutes                                                                            Ratio
Cooking Time: 25 minutes                                                                                 1 : 1
Soaking Time: 5 to 6 hours                                                                          Flour : Sugar           

Ingredient:
Besan Flour: 1 cup
Sugar: 1 cup
Cardamon Powder: 1/4 tea spoon
Crushed Clove: 2 to 3 nos
Cashews: A few numbers
Orange,red food color: 1 pinch
Baking Soda: 1/4 tea spoon or even less
Water as needed
Oil for frying 

Method:
1. Seive besan flour and take it in a wide bowl, add in food color, baking soda and water to make a batter of dosa batter consistency.
2. In another bowl, put the sugar  and add water till the sugar is immersed. Place this bowl on stove top and let all the sugar melts and put off the flame. Keep aside. This stage is called as sticky stage.
3. Now heat oil in a pan and fry boondis using a boondi ladle and soak the fried boondis in this sugar syrup.
4. Fry the remaining batter into boondi and add into the sugar syrup. Let it soak for 2 hours till all the syrup is absorbed.
5. Now make it into balls and dry under fan for 10 minutes.
6. Store it in an air tight container.

Note:
1. This quantity yields 30 numbers (1 cup = 15 numbers).
2. Stays well in room temperature for 4 to 5 days.

 

Kalakhand (Easy Version)

                                              Kalakhand (Easy Version)

Preparation Time: 30 minutes                                                          Ratio
                                                                                                      1: 1
                                                                               Condensed Milk : Panner

Ingredients:
Condensed milk: 1/2 tin
Panner: 100 gms
Cardamom Powder: 1/2 tea spoon
Grated Badam: 1 tea spoon
Ghee: 1 1/2 tea spoons ( For greasing)

Method:
1. Take a heavy bottomed pan (Preferably pressure pan). Pour half tin condensed milk into the pan. 
2. Grate the panner and add this panner to the condensed milk.
3. Place the pan on the stove over medium flame on the big burner.
4. Keep on stirring until the moisture evaporates and the mixture comes out as a whole mass leaving the sides of the pan.
5. Now put this on a greased tray and press it lightly ( Flatten it). 
6. When it is slightly warm cut it into pieces and store it in an air tight container.

Note:
1. It stays well for one week, when refrigerated.
2. This quantity yields 15 pieces approximately. 

Deepavali Special - Sweets & Savories Collections

    An Indian festival celebrated with enthusiasm and fun all through in our country by young and old. It spiritually signifies the victory of light over darkness, good over evil.

    In North India, Diwali is celebrated in memory of Lord Rama's victory over the demon King Ravana and his subsequent homecoming to Ayodhya after 14 years of exile. It is celebrated as festival of lights.

   In South India, it commemorates the death of Narakasura in the hands of Lord Krishna. It is believed that Narakasura, a malevolent demon, tortured common people and they prayed to Lord Krishna to defeat him. The people celebrated this defeat of Narakasura with sparkles, lights and fireworks. The day begins with an early morning oil bath, wearing new cloths, bursting of firecrackers, exchange of sweets between neighbors.

   After the bath, a home made medicine known as " Deepavali Lehiyam" is consumed, which is supposed to be aid in soothing digestive problems that may ensure because of feasting that happens throughout the day.

  Now coming to the deepavali bakshanams, I may post 2 to 3 sweets and 2 to 3 savories. As I have already mentioned in the previous posts, my son has a sweet tooth, so I end up doing more sweets than savories.

Wish you Happy Deepavali


                                                      Khoa Chocolate Burfi

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
Unsweetened khoa: 200 gms
Cocoa powder: 2 tea spoons
Sugar: 75 gms
Ghee: 2 tea spoons for greasing
Panner: 20 gms ( For the granular texture)

Method:
1. Crumble the khoa and divide that into two equal portions.
2. Take one portion of khoa and half of panner in a non-stick pan and place it over medium flame.
3. Stir this continuously till it melts and add sugar and keep on stirring.
4. It will form as a mass leaving the sides of the pan.
5. Now put this into a greased tray and flatten it well. Let is cool.
6. Now take the remaining portion of the khoa  and panner in a non-stick pan and add sugar.
7. Stir this continuously, add Cocoa powder and mix well.
8. It will form as a mass leaving the sides of the pan.
9. Put this over the flattened khoa and press well and allow it to cool.
10. Cut it into square and serve it.

Note:
1. It stays well for 3 to 4 days under refrigeration. 
2. Store it in an air tight container.

 
 

Madhur Vada

            Madhur is a place between Bangalore to Mysore, a vada prepared here is very famous. It is sold in all trains between Bangalore to Mysore.It is made of rice flour, cheroti rava and maida flour. An Instant vada that can be made in a jiffy. When our family went on a tour to Karnataka during May 2010,  happened to taste this vada at Madhur.
            It was crispy, crunchy and filling too. If this vada is made carefully, devoid of moisture, it stays well for 3 to 4 days.

                                                       Madhur Vada

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Resting Time: 10 Minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
Cheroti Rava: 1/2 cup 
Maida: 1/4 cup
Rice Flour: 1/4 cup
Finely chopped coriander leaves: 1 tea spoon
Finely chopped green chilli: 2 nos
Water as needed
Salt to taste
Oil for frying
Grated ginger
Finely chopped Onion: 1 no (Optional)

Method: 
1. Take a bowl, add rava, maida, rice flour, salt, chopped onion, green chilli, grated ginger.
2. Sprinkle water little by little and make it into soft dough, even it becomes soggy, do not worry, the rava will absorb moisture.
3. Let it rest for 10 minutes
4. Heat oil in a frying pan over a medium flame.
5. Take a lemon sized ball out of the dough, flatten it like patties and deep fry in the hot oil, when it is golden brown, drain oil and take it out and serve with chutney.

Note:
1. Make sure to fry it over medium flame, otherwise it won't be crisp.
2. The resting time is very important.

 

Vella Seedai ( Sweet Seedai)

    Vella seedai means seedai made out of jaggery (Vellam).  I learnt the uppu seedai and could do it with out any fault, but this sweet seedai was a herculean task for me.
     It always turned to be very hard. Sometimes it was so hard, that we could not break it. My son jokingly says, that he will share this hard sweet seedai to his class bullies, who usually grab his lunch, so that they would never touch his lunch box.
    For the past two years my sweet seedai's turned out be crunchy and soft inside At last I learnt the recipe. My previous recipe missed the butter. But now I add little butter to make it crispy outside and crunchy soft inside. The secret is butter!!!...
     Coming to the recipe
                                     
                                          Vella Seedai (Sweet Seedai)   

Cuisine: South Indian Sweet                                                                  Ratio
Preparation Time: 20 minutes                                                   Rice Flour: Urad Flour
Cooking Time: 20 minutes                                                                      6: 1

Ingredients:
Rice flour: 6 tea spoons heaped
Urad flour: 1 ta spoon heaped
Cardamom: 2 nos crushed
Jaggery (pounded): 4 tea spoons heaped
Unsalted butter: 1 tea spoon
Sesame or Til seeds: 1/4 tea spoon (Optional)
Water as needed
Refined oil for frying

Method:
1. Place a pan on the stove over a medium flame and add rice flour and fry it for less than 2 minutes, the flour should be hot lukewarm, ie you can feel the heat when you touch the flour.
2. Likewise do it for urad flour and take both the flours in a wide bowl.
3. Pound the jaggery and melt in the same pan and filter it for impurities (ie sand). Add this to the flour.
4.  Melt butter to liquid form and add it to the flour and mix well
5. Add sesame seeds,crushed cardamom and add water little by little and make it into soft dough.
6. Divide it into small marble size balls using your palms.
7. Place a pan with oil for frying over a medium flame.
8. When the oil is hot, fry the seedai 5 at a time slowly over a medium flame, so that it cooks evenly inside.
9. Drain oil and take it out and cool completely.
10. Th seedai will be soft while it is hot, once it cools down it will be crunchy.
11. Store it in a air tight container.

Note:
1. It stays well for 4 to 5 days.

Uppu Seedai

      A savory snack usually prepared during Krishnajayanthi in Tamil Nadu.
      In my mom's house, we do not prepare seedai, as a usual fear of seedai bursting in oil while frying. Once during 1988, my dad ventured to make seedai, but it bursted in hot oil. So after this attempt, they never ventured to make seedai.
      I too believed in their view that it may burst. But my friend Vidhya gave me the confidence and the recipe to make seedai's both uppu and vella seedai at home with out much fuss.
      Few important steps needs to be follow to get crispy and crunchy seedai. She made me understand that only moisture will make the seedai to burst in oil. So the moisture from the flour has to be completely removed by slightly heating, you should not fry the flour, only slight heating will do.
      Coming to the recipe

                                                        Uppu Seedai

Cuisine: South Indian                                                                                 Ratio
Preparation Time: 20 minutes                                                       Rice Flour: Urad Flour
Cooking Time: 20 minutes                                                                           6: 1

Ingredients:
Rice Flour: 6 tea spoons heaped
Urad Flour: 1 tea spoon heaped
Salt ass needed
Unsalted Butter: 1 table spoon
Jeera: 1/4 tea spoon 
Water as needed
Refined Oil for frying

Method:
1. Place a pan on the stove over a medium flame, add rice flour and heat it for less than 2 minutes.
2. The flour should be lukewarm, take it out in to a wide bowl.
3. In the same way fry urad flour and add it to the rice flour.
4. Mix it well using your hand, add salt, jeera and mix well.
5. Place a small pan on the stove over medium flame, when it is hot, add butter and melt it. When it is just melted put off the flame, add this melted butter to flour and mix well.
6. Add water little by little and make it into a soft dough and divide it into smaller portions, ie size of a marble.
7. Roll into balls using your both palms, as we do for Gulab jamuns.
8. Spread the balls in a clean paper or white cloth, till all the dough is made into balls.
9. Place a pan for frying on the stove over a medium flame with enough oil for frying the seedais.
10. When the oil is hot drop in the seedai's one by one and fry it over medium flame till it turns golden brown.
11. Drain oil and take it out and cool it completely.
12. Store it in a air tight container.

Note:
1. While frying or heating rice and urad flour, make sure that you don't burn the flour. It should be of bearable heat by your hands.
2. You can fry seedai by batch of 10 to 15 at a time.
3. While seedais are hot it will be slightly soft, once when it cools completely it will be crispy and crunchy.
4. It stays well for a week.


 

 

Krishna Jayanthi Special

      This year Krishna Jayanthi falls on 25th August. In our country some celebrate Gokulalastami, while others Jayanthi.
      Gokulastami is the evening before Krishna was born. Krishna Jayanthi is the day of birth. It is celebrated all over India, with festivity.
      In South India, Krishna jayanthi is celebrated with offerings (bakshanam) to Krishna and using rice flour, drawing of foot prints of infant Krishna from the entrance of the house till the pooja room, which depicts the arrival of Lord Krishna into the house. The offerings made to Lord Krishna includes fruits, curd and butter.
      Savories believed to be Krishna's favorite like Seedai, Appam, Murkkku, Sweet Seedai are prepared for neivedhyam.
      The festival is celebrated in the evening as Krishna was born in the midnight. Coming to the recipe of Appam, it varies from household to household.
      Some prepare it using maida, while others do it with wheat flour. I am following the wheat flour version, which my friend Vidhya taught me.

                                                                Appam

Cuisine: South Indian
Preparation Time: 10 minutes 
Resting Time: 1/2 an  hour 

Ingredients:
Wheat flour: 1 cup
Ripe Yellow Banana: 2 nos
Sooji: 1 table spoon (Optional)
Ghee: 1 tea spoon
Baking Soda: 1 pinch
Jaggery: 1/4 cup finely grated
Cardamom: 2 pods crushed
Raisin: A few nos
Cashews: A few nos
Water as needed
oil for deep frying

Method:
1. Mash the bananas to a fine smooth paste.
2. Finely pound the jaggery.
3. Take a wide bowl, add wheat flour, sooji and soda and mix well.
4. Add thee mashed bananas and the pounded jaggery to the wheat flour.
5. Add cardamom powder and mix well, add water little by little and gently mix it.
6. The batter should be of Idli batter consistency.
7. Take a small pan, add ghee and place it on the stove over a medium flame.
8. When hot, add cashews and fry it till it turns golden brown, then add raisin, it will puff up. Now put off the flame.
9. Add this to the batter and mix well. Keep it for half an hour.
10. Take a kadai and pour enough oil for frying and heat it over a medium flame.
11. When the oil is hot, pour the batter using small ladle.
12. It will immediately puff and raise, flip it and allow it to cook till golden brown color.
13. Drain oil and take it out  or  You can avoid deep frying and instead you can use a non-stick paniyara pan to fry it, using minimum oil or ghee.

Note:
1. It stays well for a day or two.
2. For 1 cup it yields 15 appams approximately.

 

Pani Puri

    A famous street food found all through India, but the name differs, it is called as golgoppa in Delhi and in Mumbai Panipuri. Usually it served with boiled potato, raw onion and sprout filling with pani over flowing.
     In my previous post, I have mentioned how to make puris. In this the assembling part.When my Geetha chithi ( My Mother's younger Sister) and her family stayed in Satatra, near Pune, we went for holidaying there. That was the time when I heard of the name Pani puri. My cousin Harish mentioned this very name and he said, he is going to eat that evening.
    I was wondering what and how it would be, saw my cousin relishing it. I did not even try to taste it. I felt the pani puri very alien and reused to taste it. Even in my dream, I have never thought I would make at home.
   Here is the recipe for it.
                                                           Pani Puri

Cuisine: Indian
Preparation Time: 25 minutes
For Pani's: 10 minutes
Boiled Potato: 10 minutes 

Ingredients:

For Green Pani:
Coriander leaves: 2 tea spoon
Pudina leaves: 2 tea spoon
Green chili: 2 nos
Pani puri masala: 1 table spoon
Water: 1 litre

For the sweet liquid or Pani:
Imili chutney: 1 table spoon
Panipuri masala: 1 table spoon 
Water: 1/2 litre

For Stuffing:
Big boiled and mashed potato: 3 nos
Finely chopped Onions: 1 big
Sprouted moong dhal: 1/4 cup
Salt as per taste

Method:
1. In a mixie jar add the washed coriander leaves, pudina, green chili and grind it in to fine paste.
2. Transfer into a bowl, add water, pani puri masala and mix well and keep it aside.
3. Take imili chutney in a bowl, add enough water and pani puri masala and mix well and keep it.
4. Mash potatoes and add chopped onion, sprout dhal and salt mix well and keep.
5. Now assembling, break puri on the top using a spoon or with index finger, fill in the potato mixture and pour pani either sweet or spicy one. of your choice and serve immediately.

Note:
Imili chutney recipe, I have mentioned in my Vada Pav post.
 

Pani Puri's

       Recently I saw a video in the FB of how puri's for pani puri made, shocked me. I googled to find recipes for it, saw 2 to 3 recipes and finally derived one. I have previously tried pani puri recipe during 2015 summer in a very small quantity. This time for posting recipe, I ventured to make nearly many puri's.
       Usually I have the habit of trying recipes of food, which I have tasted in restaurants. By trail and error method, I somehow reach the taste to 95 % as my son says. He likes the taste of the food although.
       Now to the recipe
                                                          Pani Puri's (Puri)

Cuisine: Indian
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Resting Time: Half an hour 
Cooking Time: Half an hour

Ingredients:
Cheroti Rava: 3/4 cup
Maida: 1 table spoon
Baking Powder: 1/2 tea spoon
Water as needed
Oil for frying
Salt to taste 

Method:
1. Take cheroti rava in a wide bowl, add salt, maida, baking powder and add water little by little and make into soft dough.
2. Let the dough rest for half an hour till all the moisture is observed by the rava.
3. Make tiny marble sized balls out of it.
4. Roll out in to puri's of even thickness.
5. Place a kadai on the stove and pour in enough oil for frying.
6. Heat oil over medium flame, when the oil is hot, drop in puris 3 to 4 at a time.
7. Wait till it puffs up and now gently flip it.
8. Fry till it attain golden yellow slightly with brown spot on it.
9. Drain oil and take it out.
10. Cool it completely and store it in air tight container.

Note:
1. While making the dough it can even be sticky, as the cheroti rava will absorb the excess moisture in it.
2. It stays well for a week, you can even refrigerate it.
 

Fried Chili Idli

          During our visit to Goa in  January 2003, we had this fried chili idli at a restaurant called "Plantain Leaf" in Calangute. It was the first time, I heard of such a dish and we tasted it too. It was yummy, slightly sweet, sour and hot. It was very crunchy. It needs no side dish. We can use left over idlis for this dish. Before tasting this dish, I used to make idli upma ,a with left over idlis. But this is fried "unhealthy" as it is termed. But my son loves this. I make this very rarely, because he also loves to eat idli as such with milagai podi or with groundnut chutney. This can be served as after school snack, with a glass of milk or any juice. Coming to the recipe.

                                                     Fried Chilli Idli

Cuisine: Fusion-Indian
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
Left over idlis: 4 to 5 nos
Slit green chilies: 2 nos 
Thinly sliced onion: 1 no
Tomato Ketchup: 1 table spoon
Water to sprinkle
Salt to taste
Oil for frying
Sugar: 1/4 tea spoon (Optional) 
Curry leaves: A few
Coriander Leaves: To garnish

Method:
1. Cut the left over idlis into cubes and deep fry them in hot oil, drain oil and keep aside.
2. Cut onions into thin slices and slit green chilies.
3. Place a pan on the stove, add 2 tea spoons of oil, when the oil is hot, add green chilies, curry leaves, onions and fry till onions becomes translucent.
4. Now add the fried idlis and toss well, add salt for onions and sugar, ketchup and mix well in high flame for 3 minutes.
5. Transfer it to a plate and serve.

 
 

Milk Halwa

        There was a always a confusion for me between milk halwa and milk khoa. Recently I learnt it from my mom. She said milk halwa is made by adding ghee, whereas khoa is not so. I like the granular structure of milk halwa.These granules can be achieved using panner (Cottage Cheese) or simply a half tea spoon of fresh curd, it will slightly curdles giving a granular structure.

        Milk halwa reminds me of the old Lala Topiwala Sweet Stall. During my childhood days, after shopping at Purasavakam, my mother used to buy milk halwa from this sweet stall. The taste still lingers in my tongue. This sweet stall was in Gangadareshwar Koil Street, right next to pillaiyar koil in the corner (Junction) of Purasavakam high road and Gangareshwar koil street.

        It was priced somewhere between 3 to 5 rupees then. After our shopping I used to insist my mom to take me to this shop and buy me milk halwa ("Sweet" memories !!!). It was served hot. I never had the patience to wait till it cools down, I often burnt my tongue.

        Now being a mother, I am little hesitant and choosy to buy food stuffs for my son, whatever he names, I somehow browse through the net or magazines or from people to know the recipes and try to make at home. Trail and error method.

        I finally made milk halwa, it was very yummy. Traditionally it is done by boiling milk over a medium flame and reducing it to solid form (Khoa). But I was bit lazy to do this, so I made with unsweetened khoa available in the supermarkets. Here is the recipe.

                                                               Milk Halwa 

 

Cuisine: Indian Sweets                                                                 Ratio
Preparation Time: 10 minutes                                              Khoa : Sugar
Cooking Time: 20 minutes                                                  1 Cup : 1/4 Cup

Ingredients:
Unsweetened Khoa: 1 Cup
Sugar: 1/4 Cup (or more) 
Fresh curd :1 table spoon
Ghee: 1/4 Cup
Badam & Cashews shavings: 2 tea spoons

Method:
1. Crumble the khoa well, put this into a heavy bottomed pan.
2. Place the pan on the stove over a medium flame.
3. Add sugar to the khoa and mix well. The khoa sugar mixture will become semi solid.
4. Keep on stirring and add ghee in between, add cardamon and keep stirring. add curd ,it will granulize
5. After 10 to 15 minutes, it becomes a whole mass leaving the sides of the pan. Switch off the flame and add the remaining ghee if any.
6. Transfer it to a bowl, garnish with badam, cashews shavings and serve hot and enjoy.

Note:
1. This sweet tastes yummy , when hot.
2. When it becomes whole mass, it slightly changes color from half-white to wheatish color.
3. It tastes best when is is in wheatish color, only then it attains the granular structure.
4. The measurement of sugar was fine with me. it was apt, but if you have sweet tooth, you can add more sugar as per your taste.
5. It stays well for 2 to 3 days in room temperature, one week when refrigerated.