Gulab Jamun

This is a special post to me ...yes its my 50th post :-).I wish to thank everyone who have encouraged me and also today is my Dad's Birthday.I am sending these Gulab Jamuns as a virtual treat and wishing him many more Happy returns of this day.
           Coming to the recipe,I had many misses when making Gulab Jamuns using the ready made mix.Though everyone say its so simple,somehow I missed either in the frying part or making over-sticky sugar syrup and so on.Then I decided to try it from the scratch and there were so many recipes using milk powder,Khoa/mawa when I searched in the net.I picked up this recipe from here as I wanted to try with simple,easily available ingredients and the video was so helpful.I got perfect Gulab Jamuns and I am hooked to this recipe now.I have made it a couple of times to see whether I get consistent result each time before posting here and if you follow the recipe exactly you will definitely get Soft,tasty Gulab Jamuns.

Ingredients:

Milk powder	½ cup
Maida	2 tblsp
Baking soda	¼ tsp
Ghee	1 tblsp
Yogurt	2 tblsp
Oil	For deep frying
For the Sugar Syrup
Sugar	1  cup
Water	1 ¼ cup
Rose essence	1 tsp

Method:

• Take a bowl and add all the dry ingredients and mix well.Add ghee and mix well.Now add yogurt 1 tblsp at a time and mix well.You will get a slightly sticky dough.Cover and keep aside for 5 mins.
• After 5 mins,You can easily handle the dough to make Jamuns.Grease little ghee to your hands and make small balls of the dough.The main thing to note here is to make the balls smooth without any cracks.
• Heat a kadai with oil.
• Take a pan ,add sugar and water and once the sugar dissolves let it come to a rolling boil,now reduce the flame to the lowest and switch off after 5 mins.Add rose essence and mix well.
• Once the oil is heated,test by dropping a small ball of Jamun,Once dropped it should sit at the bottom for few seconds and then slowly come up.
• This is the right temperature,slowly add 4 to 5 jamuns in one batch and fry them evenly to light golden colour.
• Drain them on paper towels.
• While you fry the second batch,drop the first batch of jamuns to the sugar syrup(slightly warm it up by keeping in low flame) and continue with the rest of the Jamuns.Give a minimum standing time of 1 or 2 hrs before serving.

Note:

• Frying the Jamuns in the correct temperature ensures its cooked well properly and evenly.If you fry them at high temperature,the outside browns too fast and inside will be undercooked and it will not yield soft jamuns.
• You can start making the Sugar syrup just before frying the first batch. Once it comes to a rolling boil,simmer for 4-5 mins and switch off.
• The original recipe uses 2 cups sugar and 2 cups water for the sugar syrup but I have reduced here as I preferred that way.
• Again when dropping the fried jamuns to the syrup,heat the syrup to the lowest flame.The main thing to note is the syrup should be hot for the jamuns to absorb it nicely.
• The above quantity yields 10 to 15 Jamuns.
• I have used full fat milk powder here.
• The good thing is you can easily scale it to half and do a small batch and moreover this is totally free from any preservative.

Yellow Pumpkin Soup

When I was chatting with my friend,she told me about this Pumpkin soup and it sounded healthy and interesting. I gave it a try and liked it.The soup has a mild sweetness from the Pumpkin and small onion used. 

Ingredients:

Yellow pumpkin(Parangikai) cut into cubes	1 cup
Small onion finely chopped	2 tblsp
Garlic finely chopped	1 tsp
Black pepper powder	to taste
Salt	to taste
Butter or Olive oil	1 tsp

Method:

• Cook pumpkin cubes with little water in a pan till it becomes soft.
• Cool and puree it in a blender.
• Heat a pan,add butter,chopped garlic and small onions and fry well.
• Now add the pumpkin puree,pepper powder,salt and little water to get the desired consistency.
• Boil for 3-4 mins,garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Strawberry Smoothie

This Strawberry smoothie is so easy and quick to prepare.You won't notice the taste of Yoghurt and its tasty and healthy too.

Ingredients:

Strawberry	6-7
Sugar	2 tsp
Fresh Yoghurt	½ cup
Milk	½ cup

Method:

• Blend Sugar,Strawberries cut into halves to a paste. 
• Add yoghurt and milk,blend till everything is combined well and serve.

Kaju Katli

Kaju Katli is one of our favourite sweets and I made this for Diwali and posting for Day 3 of Blogging Marathon #22. I noted it down from a TV show and have tried it a couple of times before.The katli will be ready so fast and its easy if you keep all the things,rolling pin etc ready. 

              "Wish you all a very happy and prosperous Diwali"

Ingredients:

Cashewnut	1 cup
Sugar powdered	½ cup+2 tblsp
Rose essence	½ tsp

Method:

• Grind cashewnut to a fine powder using a mixie.Transfer to a bowl.
• Powder sugar and transfer it to a pan.
• Add little water till the sugar is just immersed.
• Boil till you get one string consistency.Add rose essence ,mix well and immediately transfer to the bowl containing cashew powder.
• Mix well with a ladle.Once its warm enough to handle with your hands,grease little ghee and knead it well.You will get a smooth ball .
• Place this ball in between parchment sheets and roll to desired thickness using rolling pin.
• Cut into diamonds and serve.

Note:

• While grinding the cashews grind it at a stretch,don't stop many times in between.
• The sugar syrup consistency is important to get the right texture.
• Kneading it well is also important.
• If the mixture is dry and it breaks while kneading,add very little milk, knead again and proceed.(I used few drops of milk as mine was bit dry)
• But when you use milk the shelf life is less and its better to refrigerate and consume it quickly.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#22.

Sending this to Vardhini's Diwali Bash.

Badam Cake

I prepared Badam cake for day 2 of Blogging Marathon #22 under Diwali Special.The main thing to note while making this cake is the final consistency and I got the right texture.

Ingredients:

Almonds	1 cup
Sugar	2 cups
Ghee	½ cup
Saffron	few strands
Milk	as needed

Method:

• Soak Almonds in hot water for 5-6 hrs.I usually soak it overnight.
• Peel off the skin and grind the almonds and milk(around 3/4 cup) to a fine paste.
• Heat a pan,add the sugar and little water enough to immerse the sugar.Stir till sugar is dissolved.
• Grease a plate with ghee and keep it ready.Soak saffron in little warm milk.
• Boil till the sugar syrup reaches one string consistency.(If you press little syrup between your thumb and index fingers,it should form a single thread)
• Now add the ground almond paste,saffron milk and mix well.
• Stir continuously.Once it starts thickening add ghee little by little and stir well.
• Once the mixture starts leaving the sides and you get a froth like texture, immediately pour on the greased plate and level the top using a flat base.
• After 4-5 mins draw lines to make pieces and remove after some time.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#22.

Sending this to Vardhini's Diwali Bash.

Carrot Halwa

For the second week of Blogging Marathon #22 ,I am posting under 'Diwali Special' theme.I prepared Carrot Halwa and served to the guests who visited us and they relished it.You can make it so easily using this pressure cooker method.Lets quickly move on to the recipe.

Ingredients:

Carrot grated	6 cups
Sugar	1 ¾ cup
Evaporated milk(see note below)	1 tin
Cardamom powder	½ tsp
Ghee	3 tblsp
Cashewnut	As needed

Method:

• Take a pressure cooker/pan,add 1tblsp ghee and fry the grated carrots for 2-3 mins till it slightly change in colour.
• Add the evaporated milk and pressure cook for 1 whistle.
• Once the pressure releases,open and add the sugar and mix well.
• Stir continuosly till it starts thickening,now add cardamom powder,cashews roasted in ghee and the remaining ghee and cook for 4-5 mins till it thickens and reaches the desired halwa consistency.

Note:

• I have used Evaporated milk and not condensed milk.If Evaporated milk is not available use full fat milk.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#22.

Baked Corn Tortilla Chips

Corn Tortilla chips was in my to-do list for a long time and I made this for Day 3 of BM #22 .To make it healthy, I decided to bake them instead of deep frying and I am quite happy with the results.I couldn't roll the tortillas too thin as I wished but it tasted great with homemade Tomato salsa.I would like to try the deep fried version once to compare them.

Ingredients:

Corn Flour(Fine cornmeal flour)	¾ cup
All purpose flour	¼ cup
Salt	As needed
Baking powder	A pinch
Oil	2 tblsp
Chilli Powder	As needed

Method:

Corn tortillas:

• Take a bowl and mix Corn flour,All purpose flour,baking powder and salt.Add 1 tblsp oil and mix well.
• Slowly add lukewarm water and make a soft dough.Cover and keep aside for 15 mins.
• Dust some flour and roll them to circles.
• Heat a fry pan and cook both the sides till light spots appear.

Corn Tortilla chips:

• Stack the corn tortillas and first cut them half to make two semi circles. Again cut each semicircle to 4 triangles as shown in the picture.I used kitchen scissors to cut them easily.
• Brush both sides of the cut tortillas with little oil,sprinkle salt,chilli powder.Arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C for around 10-12 mins till it turns light brown and crisp.
• Enjoy the baked Tortilla chips with Salsa or any dip of your choice.

Note:

• The baking time differs with each oven and so keep an eye on the chips and bake accordingly.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#22.

Sending this to Kid's Delight- Healthy MakeOver hosted by Rasi and started by Srivalli.

Vegetable Hash Browns

While I was thinking about a recipe for Day 2 of Blogging Marathon #22, I was talking with my friend and her daughter asked me to try this recipe which she saw in a TV show.Though I have not tried hash browns before,the recipe sounded great and healthy with simple ingredients and I immediately made them and we liked it very much.

Ingredients:

Potato(Medium sized)	3
Green peas	Handful
Salt	as needed
Black Pepper powder	1/2 tsp
Chopped coriander leaves	as needed
Whole wheat  flour	2 tblsp
Milk (see note below)	¼ cup(approximately)
Oil	1 tblsp

Method:

• Boil Potatoes and green peas.
• Peel off the skin and grate the potatoes.Take a bowl and add grated potatoes,green peas,salt,pepper powder,chopped coriander leaves and mix well with your hands. 
• Add the wheat flour and mix well.Add milk slowly till everything comes together.The mixture should not be soggy.You should be able to form patties.
• Heat a fry pan and add little oil.Form patties out of the mixture and slightly flatten it with your hands and roast them till it becomes golden brown on both sides and serve with Tomato ketchup.

Note:

• Add milk little by little till you get consistency as shown in the picture.No need to add full 1/4 cup milk.
• Don't overcook the potatoes.They should be firm.
• The original recipe called for adding boiled corn kernels and grated Zucchini.Add finely chopped green chilli if you want it more spicy.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#22.

Sending this to Kid's Delight- Healthy MakeOver hosted by Rasi and started by Srivalli.

Eggless Chocolate Brownies

This is my post for Blogging Marathon #22 and am participating for the first time.This week I will be posting under "Kids Special-Healthy makeover".I made these Eggless Brownies using Hung curd and got good results.I have not used butter in this recipe instead used Hung curd with some oil to get the right texture and taste.

Ingredients:

Flour	1 cup
Sugar(I used light brown sugar)	½ cup
Hung curd(see note below)	¼ cup
Oil	¼ cup
Cocoa powder	3 tblsp
Baking powder	¾ tsp
Baking soda	¼ tsp
Vanilla essence	1 tsp
Milk	½ cup approximately
Walnuts chopped	¼ cup

Method:

• Preheat oven to 180 º C.
• Sift flour with baking powder,baking soda and cocoa powder.keep aside.
• Take a mixing bowl and mix hung curd with brown sugar and oil.Add vanilla essence and half of the milk and mix well using a hand whisk.
• Now add the sifted flour,walnuts and mix using a spatula till it is incorporated with the sugar-oil-hung curd mixture.Add the remaining milk till you get the right consistency of the batter.The batter will be slightly thick.
• Spread this evenly on a greased and floured cake pan and bake at 180 ºC for about 20 mins .
• When the top is firm and if a toothpick inserted comes clean then its done.
• Remove the pan from the oven.Once it cools completely and comes to room temperature you can slice.
• Enjoy it plain or with your favourite icecream.
• I topped it with some melted chocolate before serving.

Note:

• I have used Brown sugar in this recipe and you can substitute with white granulated sugar.
• You can use thick yogurt instead of hung curd.
• The chocolate frosting is optional.I just melted some dark chocolate in a bowl over a vessel of simmering water and added little powdered sugar and butter and used it as frosting.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#22.

Sending this to Kid's Delight- Healthy MakeOver hosted by Rasi and started by Srivalli.