Jeera Poli ( A sweet poori made from all purpose flour)

Hmmmm. Now what should I say. This is one of the most delectable sweets I’ve had. A sweet version of poori’s made with all-purpose flour, dipped in sugar syrup with cardamom and topped with crunchy titbits of almonds, cashews and pistachios. Yummylicious! huh?  Well, made this on my mom’s b’day and it was a huge hit. “Jeera” simply means sugar syrup. This is something you can do as part of your Diwali sweets or just on a sunday evening to treat your family with a sweet surprise. It is very easy to make, and sure would be enjoyed by everyone in your family.

Ingredients:

• Maida or all purpose flour- 1cup.(for 15 polis)
• Oil for deep frying-2 cups.
• Cane sugar- 1cup.
• Cardomeom powder( Elaichi)- 1tsp.
• Orange or yellow food color- a pinch
• Almonds, cashews and pistachios- coarsely powdered- 3tsp.

Method:

1. Mix maida with a little water and few drops of oil and knead into a dough.
2. Keep it aside for 30 minutes.
3. For Jeera(Sugar syrup): Add little watar to sugar in a pan and heat it till it forms 1 string consistency.
4. Add cardomom powder and food color to the sugar syrup.
5. Make small rounds, ( small lemon sized) in the dough and roll them flat  like pooris with a rolling pin.
6. Dab it with maida, just so they dont stick.
7. Deep fry in hot oil one by one, till golden brown.
8. Soak the warm pooris in warm sugar syrup and arrange them in a platter.
9. Garnish with crunchy titbits of cashew, Almond and pistachios.
10. They can be served as rounds or can be folded into halves.

Tip:

• The pooris have to be crunchy. So don’t soak for too long in the sugar syrup.
• While making sugar syrup, make sure, it doesn’t cross the 1 string consistency, otherwise the sugar may crystallize on top of polis.
• 2 tsp of Whole whea flour can be added to all purpose flour if you want the dough to be firm and easy to handle.

Sending this entry to Sireesha’s sweet series event at http://momrecipies.blogspot.com/2009/10/event-announcement-sweet-series.html

                               

Poori’s with Potato Masal and Chole( A wholesome whole wheat bread with matching sides)

Poori’s are wholesome whole wheat bread, that is an absolute favorite for both children and adults. In south india, its customary to serve poori (puri) with madras masal, which is a potato based side to go with them. However in North India, Poori’s are served with chole or channa- a garbanzo bean side dish. Both of them taste very good. Though, I personally like the potato masal very much, I make masal and chole together to break the monotony and to make the dish a bit more interesting and grand. My daughter loves the poori’s. She simply enjoys it with sugar and ghee.

Poori’s 

 

Ingredients:

• Whole wheat flour (atta)- 2 cups ( will  get about 15 poori’s).
• Salt- a pinch.
• Water-just enough to knead the dough.
• Oil- 1/2 tsp- to knead.
• Oil- for deep-frying.

Method:

1. Mix wheat flour, salt, water and knead them into a dough.
2. Add 1/2 tsp oil, so the dough doesn’t stick to your hands.
3. let the dough sit for 1 hour.
4. Make the dough into lemon sized small balls.
5. Flatten them with a rolling-pin and table.
6. Dab the rounds with atta(whole wheat flour), while pressing, so the rounds are not sticking to the rolling table.
7. Gently slide the rounds in hot oil and deep fry them in medium heat.
8. When one side gets cooked, topple it to the other side and gently give it a press to get fluffy poori’s.
9. Absord excess oil with a  paper towel.
10. Serve hot with madras-potato masal or chole.

Tip: Add water little by little while kneading, so you dont make the dough loose.

Potato(Aalo) Masal    

Ingredients:

• Potatoes-3 big.
• Onions- 1 big.
• Green chillies-2.
• Oil- 2 tsp.
• Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp.
• Urad dhal- 1/2 tsp.
• Channa dhal-1/2 tsp.
• Tomato-1 (optional).
• Peas- 1/4 cup-(optional).
• Turmeric- 1/2 tsp.
• Salt-to taste.
• Curry leaves- an arc.
• Gram flour- 2 tsp.

Method:

1. Pressure cook potatoes, peel the skin and smash them.
2. Chop onions and tomatoes(optional).
3. Slit green chilies.
4. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. Once it splatters, add urad dhal, channa dhal, curry leaves, green chillies, Chopped onions and saute them.
5. At this point tomatoes and peas can be added optionally and allow it to cook for few minutes.
6. Add salt, turmeric and mashed potatoes.
7. Add gram flour to 1/2 cup of water and add it to the pan.
8. Simmer for 5-10 minutes and turn the heat off.
9. Serve with hot poori’s.

Chole:

Ingredients:

• White Garbanzo beans-1 tin cooked.
• Oil- 2 tsp.
• Cumin seeds(jeera)- 1/2 tsp.
• Ginger garlic paste- 1 tsp.
• Onion paste-  from 1 big red onion.
• Tomato puree- from 2 tomatoes.
• Salt-to taste.
• Chole or Channa masala- 1 tsp.
• Dhania powder- 1/2 tsp.
• Curd-2 tsp (optional).
• Coriander leaves and onion rings for garnish.
• Red chilly powder-1/4 tsp.

Method:

1. Soak the Garbanzo for 8-10 hours and pressure cook till one whistle or use the ready made, pre-cooked tinned Garbanzos-but wash them well before use.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add jeera, ginger garlic paste, onion paste and saute.
3. Add tomato puree, salt, chole masala, red chilly powder, dhania powder and cook till oil separates.
4. Add 2 tsp of curd at last and mix well.
5. Garnish with cilantro.

 Note:

Another interesting variation in North india is “Chole Batura”. Batura is a large poori, which is also served with chole. But the preparation method is different.

Sending this to Cooking for kids-Wheat hosted by sireesha at http://kidzdelight.blogspot.com/2009/10/announcing-cooking-for-kids-event-wheat.html, authored by Sharmi of neivedhyam at  http://www.neivedyam.com/2008/12/announcing-cooking-for-kids-event.html

Badam-Kaju Cake/Burfi (A sweet indulgence with Almonds and Cashews)

This is really an indulgence. My daughter goes nuts for this badam cashew cake / burfi. She can literally gobble 5 or 6 at a time. She calles it square sweet. But strangely she doesn’t like candies or chocolates. My mom always does this for her. Since mom is here, I wanted to learn this straight from her. Tried this on my hubby’s birthday and it came out pretty good.

Ingredients: ( for 50 squares)

• Plain Almonds- 11/2 cups.
• Plain Cashew- 1/4 cup.
• Water-1/2 cup.
• Cane sugar- 41/4 cups.
• Ghee- 1cup- divided.

Method:

1. Wash and soak the Almonds (Badam) in warm water for 1/2 hour.
2. Wash and soak the Cashews (Kaju) in warm water separately.
3. Peel the skin from almonds and drain the water.
4. Grind the almonds and cashew in a  blender  to a  smooth paste, with 1/2 cup of fresh water.
5. This should give approximately 2 cups of paste.
6. To 2 cups of paste add 41/4 cup of cane sugar in a  nonstick pan and turn the heat on.
7. Allow it to cook while constantly stirring it.
8. Ghee can be added slowly, while the paste is cooking.
9. In about 20-25 minutes, simmer the heat and add the remaining ghee and carefully observe for consistency.
10. There is a thin line between halwa and cake. When the corners don’t stick to the pan anymore and when you feel it’s crossing the  halwa stage(loose setting) and starting to get more dense, it’s almost done and you can turn the heat off.
11. When you cook more than this, it can turn very hard or get charred.
12. Quickly have a  tray ready( greased with ghee) and pour the contents and cut them into little squares, when it’s still warm.
13. Store it in a container,w hen it completely cools off.

Tip:

1. Since almond itself has a strong flavor to it, it is not required to add cardamom or any other flavoring.
2. The consistency is really important. With practice, you will know, the difference between halwa consistency and burfi consistency.
3. Make sure you buy plain versions of Almonds and Cashews (Do not buy salted or roasted).

Jack-o-Lantern-Pumpkin Carving For Halloween

Every year during Halloween, I used to admire all those carved pumpkins adoring the doorsteps of neighbours and last year I decided to carve my own and found that was really easy and quick. Although, my pumpkin is nothing fancy, it’s a pretty basic design, I came across this event “Show your Pumpgrin” in http://chefinyou.com/ and thought I should send in my entry. My daughter and I had fun making this Jack-o-Lantern and we took it to the Pumpkin fest event in Boston.

Materials Needed:             

• Pumpkin-round one.
• Marker pen.
• knife.
• Votive candle.
• Spoon to scoop the interior.
• A design template.

Method:

All I did was, type in google- How to carve a pumpkin and found on e how, easy step by step method to carve a pumpkin.

I followed these steps and walla, a beautiful Jack-o-Lantern it turned out to be….

http://www.ehow.com/how_3983_carve-pumpkin.html   

The steps in e how are as follows

Step 1

Select a fresh pumpkin in a shape that pleases you. Some folks prefer their pumpkins low and round, while others like them tall and oval-shaped.

Step 2

Draw a circle or hexagon on top of the pumpkin in preparation for making an opening large enough for your hand to reach through.

Step 3

Cut through the stem end of the pumpkin along your outline with a sharp knife or pumpkin-carving tool. Use a back-and-forth slicing motion to cut through the thick, tough skin.

Step 4

Remove the stem end, which will act as a cap, making sure you scrape off any seeds or pulp.

Step 5

Use a large spoon to scoop out the seeds and pulp from inside the pumpkin. Hold the spoon by its bowl to get extra leverage while scooping.

Step 6

Draw a pattern for the face on the clean pumpkin with a felt-tip pen, or scribe the lines into the skin using a pencil. Be sure to make the eyes, nose and mouth large enough; you’ll have a hard time cutting out tiny features when you’re using a big knife blade to saw through tough skin.

Step 7

Follow your pattern as you cut all the way through the pumpkin.

Step 8

Push the cut-out features gently from the inside of the pumpkin and discard the pieces.

Step 9

Place a votive candle inside the pumpkin to create an eerie glow.

 Here’s the link for the event-http://chefinyou.com/2009/10/show-me-your-pumpgrins/

Banana-Rava Halwa ( A sweet Confection with Banana,Semolina and pure Ghee)

Banana-Rava Halwa

Semolina is the purified middlings of durum wheat used in making pasta; also, the coarse middlings are used for breakfast cereals and puddings. The term “Semolina” derives from the Italian word “Semola. Semolina, made from durum wheat, is known in North India as Sooji; in South India, Ravey in Kannada, Rava/Ravam/Ravai in Telugu/Tamil, In Tamilnadu, the Semolina is also made of rice. In Turkey, semolina is known as irmik. (Source-Wiki)

I happened to read “Sundara Gaandam from Valmiki Ramayana” for 5 days over the last month. My mom brought the book from India and was reading it. She suggested it’s very good to read Ramayana, especially Sundara Gaandam. Also my cousin Divya had  sent me a beautiful handmade painting of Ram and Sita, done by her, as a present. Lot of good vibes. So, read Sundara gaandam in 5 days( about 30-45 min each day), and finished it on the the 5th day by reading Ramar Pattabhishekam( taking the throne) and Neivedhyam. I offered Banana-Rava halwa, which is done during Satyanaraya pooja-vrath.

There are several protocols on how to read them in  3 days, 5 days 9 days etc. It was such a beautiful feeling to read how Sri Hanuman flew to Lanka as a messenger of Rama, in search of Sita, who was abducted by Ravana. Sundara Gaandam describes, how Hanuman meets Sita and convinces her that Rama is on his way to rescue her and how he conveys the message and carries the souvenir from Rama to Sita and vice versa. I would read it in the morning and in the night tell the story to my daughter. She loves listening to Ramayana. It is believed, by listening or reading Sundara Gandam, one receives the blessings of Sri Ram and Hanuman.

Ramayana is equivalent to Vedas. The word “Ra ma”is derived from the middle letter of ”Om Namo Narayana” and “Namashivaya”, incorporating both Vishnu and Shiva to give Rama. While I was reading Ramayana, came across something interesting. After the pattabhishekam, Rama once asked Sita, if she liked him or his story(The Ramayana). Sita replied that she actually liked his story more than him, the reason being, Sita was leading a miserable life in Lanka after being abducted by Ravana and was starving, feeling weak, tired and had no clue why Rama did not rescue her so far. She even had suicidal thoughts and that is exactly when she heard Hanuman telling Rama’s story from a tree above. She immediately left her suicidal thoughts behind and felt happy that her husband Rama would save her. That is why she liked Rama’s story more than him.

Banana-Rava Halwa

Ingredients:

• Banana-finely chopped-1 (medium size).
• Rava or sooji- 1cup.
• Milk-1cup.
• Water-1/2cup.
• Ghee- 2tblsp.
• Sugar-1/2 cup.
• Cardamom powder-little.
• Yellow food color-a pinch-optional.
• Raisins and nuts to decorate-optional.

Method:

1. In a pan, fry rava in ghee until a nice aroma comes and rava starts to turn light brown.
2. Add  warmwater, warm milk and chopped banana pieces to the pan and cook.
3. When banana and rava are cooked, add sugar and ghee, cardomom and food color.
4. When mixture leaves the sides, remove from fire.

Tip: Select a firm, ripe banana for this halwa preparation. Do not use under ripe, over ripe ones. Nendhram pazham can be used for the same.

Presentation Tip:Tried in a dark background. Felt like it was too busy. So tried photographing against a more neutral background and the dish looked much better and the attention went to the dish instead of the background.

Garnish: Since the halwa was of the play dough consistency, I was able to mould it to a well. Filled with ghee(obviously only for garnishing purpose) and decorated with almonds, cashews, pistachios, raisins and banana rounds.

Banana sooji halwa

Sending this to Innovative Inlaws- Nithya and Pavithra http://innovativein-laws.blogspot.com/ , garnish the dish event.

Sundal Varieties ( “No Fat high protein” Legumes, seasoned with spices)

 

 In my previous posts, I wrote about  Navarathri and Saraswathi poojai-Vijayadashami and mentioned about sundals, but didn’t have a chance to write how each variety is made. When I came across the event  “My Legume Love Affair”- 15th helping in  Sia’s Monsoon spice, couldn’t resist a post dedicated to sundals. So, here it is…………

During Navrathri we make sundals with legumes every day for 10 days and offer it to Goddess Devi and partake. Also, this can be a great protein packed evening-after school snack/tiffin for kids. It’s great for pregnant women. Also great for weight watchers diet, as it is low or no fat and high in protein content. Almost 15 types of sundals can be made with different legumes using different methods.

Method: 1 ( This method can be used for Green chana, White chana and Black chana-Garbanzo beans. It is called Podi thoovina sundal)

Chana Sundal

Ingredients:

• Black or Green or White chana (Garbanzo)- 1cup.
• Salt-to taste.
• Turmeric powder- a pinch.
• Lemon juice- few drops.

For Seasoning:

• Oil- 1tsp.
• Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp.
• Urad dhal- 1/2 tsp.
• Curry leaves- 1 arc.
• Green chilly-1(optional)
• Asafoetida- a pinch.

For Masala powder: Dry roast the below and powder them.

• Dhania or coriander seeds- 1tsp.
• Dry Red chillies- 2.
• Channa Dhal-1tsp.
• Urad dhal-1tsp.
• Coconut scrapes- 2tsp.

Method:

1. Soak the chana in water for 10-12 hours.
2. Add salt and pressure cook till 1 whistle, so that it doesn’t over cook.
3. Keep oil in a pan and add the above mentioned seasoning one by one, in the order mentioned above and turmeric.
4. Add the cooked chana to the pan, after draining excess water.
5. Add the masala powder and give it a toss.
6. Squeeze lemon juice.

Method 2 ( This method can be used for Chana dhal(Kadala parupu- split chickpeas), Split Moong Dhal (Payatham parupu) and Kidney beans( Rajma) and Black eye peas(karamani)

 Ingredients:

• Legume of interest- 1cup.
• Salt-to taste.
• Turmeric powder- a pinch.
• Coconut scrapes- 2tsp.

For Seasoning:

• Oil- 1tsp.
• Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp.
• Urad dhal- 1/2 tsp.
• Curry leaves- 1 arc.
• Red chillies-3.
• Asafoetida- a pinch.

Method:

Rajma soaked in water for 10-12 hours. Karamani soaked for 1 hour. Need not soak chana dhal and moong dhal as they cook directly.

Pressure cook till 1whistle, with just enough water.

Keep oil in a pan and add the above mentioned seasoning one by one, in the order mentioned above and turmeric.

Add the cooked legume to the pan, after draining excess water and cook 5 minutes.

Garnish with coconut scrapes.

Method 3 ( Green patani-vatana, White patani, Groundnut-peanuts, Chora can be done in this method)

  Ingredients and Seasoning and Preparation method:

• Same as mentioned in Method 2.
• Instead of red chillies, green chillies are used here.
• Lemon juice can be used in this variety.
• Groundnuts need not be soaked, directly cooked.
• Chora and vatana can be soaked, but cooked carefully, as they become soft easily.
• In green vatana sundal, cut mango pieces can be added to make Thengai-maangai-patani sundal.

Method 4: (Sweet version can be made with green gram(Paasi payaru) and Red Karamani (which is hard to find in the US)

The idea is pretty much the same except that Jaggery(vellam), coconut, cardamom and ghee are used. Avoid seasonings mentioned above.

Method 5: ( Green gram Masala Sundal with onions)

If it is not used as neivedhyam, just prepared as a snack, green gram can be soaked, and allowed to sprout and method 3 can be used. But can saute chopped onions, tomatoes and a pinch of garam masala can be added.

Tip:

Asafoetida or Hing can be added to all the sundals, as legumes may cause gas to form in the stomach. Gas formation can be further avoided by letting the legumes sit in hot water for few minutes and draining the water. Then they can be soaked and cooked.

 Revealing my Legume love affair to the world by sending this to Sia’s Monsoon Spice , who is hosting the event for Susan of  The Well Seasoned Cook.

Saraswathi Poojai-Vijayadashami

Saraswathi Pooja

Saraswathi pooja is celebrated on the 9th day of the Navrathri, followed by Vijayadashami on the 10th day. Saraswathi, the goddess of Education, learning and Fine Arts is worshipped on this day. Books, which indirectly represent the Goddess Saraswathi is worshipped. Books are kept on a stand and Vasthram( a cloth) is used to decorate the books and  Swarna(Gold) is used to adorn the setup. Musical instruments like Veena, Mridangam and other instruments can be kept in the poojai. Then the saraswathi poojai is performed after the Vigneshwara pooja. The same day Ayudha poojai is celebrated. Along with books, Ayudham(Tools) can also be placed for ayudha poojai. Ayudha pooja is basically worshipping tools. Ayudha poojai is also applicable to Vahana(Vehicle). Vehicles like Cars, Scooters and even bicycles are included in the poojai, as they play an important role in our day-to-day lives to transport us from place to place and to keep us safe while travelling. Vehicles are washed, dried and chandan and kumkum are applied and  decorated with flower garlands and we can also do deeparathana for the vehicles  and a coconut is broken to ward off evil.

I remember, when I was in school, I used to keep at least one book from all the subjects and I would keep Math books on top, For Goddess Saraswathi to give more of her blessings to Math. I used to keep my sruthi box, my bharatnatyam salangai, pen, progress report and anything you could think of that is related to studies. The hilarious part of this whole thing is my dad would say, the next day Vijayadashami, after the punarpooja for books, we should read  few chapters from all the books kept in the poojai to reap the benefits. I would get away by reading  just one line( he he) from each book and still have a satisfaction that Goddess Saraswathi would give me good knowledge. Funny days! Well, now in the US, I keep all my daughter’s story books, color pencils and cook books ofcourse! Vijayadashami day is very auspicious to start anything new. Little kid’s Aksharabyasam( learning to write) and starting Music, Dance or any other learning venture can  be done that day. The students who have already begun their learning can take blessing from their respective Guru’s on Vijayadashami day.

Neivedhyam for Saraswathi pooja

Coming to the best part of any poojai-the food. Parupu vadai, Black channa sundal, jaggery-milk payasm, rice and cooked thoor dhal are offered. If the pooja falls on a weekday(we dont have holiday for the pooja in the US), I would do just a little bit of everything for neivedhyam and focus on the pooja part.

Black Chana Sundal:

 Ingredients:

• Black chana- 1cup.
• Salt-to taste.
• Turmeric powder- a pinch.
• Lemon juice- few drops.

For Seasoning:

• oil- 1tsp.
• Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp.
• Urad dhal- 1/2 tsp.
• curry leaves- 1 arc.
• Green chilly-1(optional)
• Asafoetida- a pinch.

For Masala powder: Dry roast the below and powder them.

• Dhania or coriander seeds- 1tsp.
• Dry Red chillies- 2.
• Channa Dhal-1tsp.
• Urad dhal-1tsp.
• Coconut scrapes- 2tsp.

Method:

1. Soak the black chana in water for 10-12 hours.
2. Add salt and pressure cook till 1 whistle, so that it doesn’t over cook.
3. Keep oil in a pan and add the above mentioned seasoning one by one, in the order mentioned above and turmeric.
4. Add the cooked chana to the pan, after draining excess water.
5. Add the masala powder and give it a toss.
6. Squeeze lemon juice.

Sending this to Shanti’s thaligai- Dussehra, dhanteras, deepavali event.

Navarathri(Nine nights for Goddess Devi)

The word Navaratri literally means nine nights in Sanskrit; Nava meaning Nine and Ratri meaning nights. During these nine nights and ten days, nine forms of Shakti/Devi i.e. female divinity are worshipped. They are Durga, Badrakali, Amba (Jagadamba), Annapurna, Sarvamangala, Bairavi, Chandi, Lalitha, Bhavani, Mookambika. Navarathri  is also called “Dussehra”. The 9th day is celebrated as Saraswathi Poojai ( for Vani or  Saraswathi, the Goddess of knowledge and arts) and 10th day Vijayadashami. The festival is celebrated for nine nights once every year during the beginning of October, although as the dates of the festival are determined according to the lunar calendar. 

Kids look forward for this most colorful time of the year,  where kalash and beautiful dolls are arranged and adorned in steps and everyday, you get treated with yummy sundals. As a kid, I would eagerly wait for Navrathri, so I could help my mom unpack the dolls from attic and arrange them in a  nice way. The dolls would range from idols of God and Goddess, chettiar bommai(Grocer), wax fruits and fun stuff like marriage party, cricket field set etc. I would also add my doll house and we used to have these lovely (muthu bommai), dolls hand made by my mom with baeds.( The concept is very similar to  how the birth of Jesus would be displayed in figurines, during christmas here in the US). 

The best part is not just adding new dolls each year to the old collection, but also a great opprtunity for the kids to learn Hindu culture, traditions and values. My dad and I would decorate with serial lights and focus lamp and mom would delegate me to make interesting kolam(rangoli) with sabudana, chumki and color powders. My brother and I would make a park with ragi seeds or mustard seeds and make a  jungle or park with that. When I was little, my mom would stich mattai(Hair decorations with flowers) and adorn me. All 9 nights, she would dress me up in different costumes. Typically, all the neighbours are invited to witness the kolu and receive tamboolam. People can sing songs- Kritis and Bhajans. Some recite devi slokas, Devimahatmiyam etc. The aaru padi veedu of Lord Muruga or Karthikeya is the latest addition to my mom’s collection( Palani, Thiruparankundram, Pazhamudhirsolai, Swamimalai, Thiruchendur, Thirutani).

The above mentioned way is how we used to celebrate Navarathri in South India(Tamil Nadu). However, living in the US, we got adapted and actually started loving how people in North India and in Gujarat celebrate navrathri. Punjabi’s do “Jaagran” and Gujarati’s do “Garba“( gummi-in tamil) and “Dandiya“( Kolattam-in tamil) and Durga pooja and arti. Every year, I make sure I take my daughter to dandiya-Garba and also show her the south indian kolu(display of dolls). It’s a lot of fun to play the garba and dandiya.

All the 10 days, I would make 10 varieties of sundals( Legumes or Lentils cooked and spiced) and offer it to Devi and consume as prasad. It is a protein rich healthy snack. I typically invite some friends home and offer them the prasad and tamboolam.

Sundals-prasad

 

Tamboolam

Mughalai Fruit Pulav ( A Rice delicacy from Mughlai Cuisine)

 

 The festive season of Ramadan inspired me to try a Mughalai dish. So tried my hand at making this wonderfully aromatic Kashmiri fruit pulav, originally from Mughlai cuisine. Wow, what a dish it turned out to be. The flavorful long grain basmati rice tenderly cooked with milk, cream, saffron stands to give a  gorgeous pastel yellow color adding a nutty crunch from the nuts/dry fruits and pungent flavor from the garlic, infused with aroma from rose water, cardamom and cinnamon and a shot of antioxidants in each bite. Holy dish to please and tease your palate.

The fasting observed by Muslims during this holy month of Ramadan( Ramzan) really amazes me. Every day during the month of Ramadan, Muslims around the world get up before dawn to eat Sehrior Sahari. the pre-dawn meal, then they perform the prayer. They have to stop eating and drinking before the call for prayer starts until the fourth prayer of the day, Maghrib. Muslims open their fast at sunset) prayer time. They may continue to eat and drink after the sun has set until the next morning’s fajr prayer call. Then the process starts all over..

They do it with such devotion and sincerity. Some restrain themselves from water and even swallowing their saliva. It is such a cleansing process for the Body, Mind and Soul and an act of  Will power, Self control, Patience, Modesty and Spirituality. I really salute them for their dedicated fasting observances.

Ingredients: (Serves 4)

• Basmati Rice-2 cups.
• Fruits- diced-( Pineapple, Pomegranate, Mango, Apple, Grapes and Orange)- 1 cup.
• Vegetables- diced( Sweet peas, Sweet corn and Carrots)-1 cup.
• Dry fruits/Nuts- Raisins, Cashew, Almonds, Tooti frooti, Walnut, Coconut scrapes( 2 tsp).
• Dairy- Milk( 1/2 cup), Cream (1/4 cup), Ghee- (2tsp), Butter-a dollop.
• Dry spices- Cinnamon( 2 inch piece), Bayleaves- 2, Cardomom- 3, Cloves 2, Nutmeg- a pinch.
• Fresh spices- Ginger root- 2 inch piece, Garlic- 3 pods. Chopped White Onions-1 small.
• Exotic spices- Khus khus- 1 tsp, Saffron- few strands. Rose water- 2tsp. Edible Rose petals for garnish.
• Salt- to taste
• Sugar- a pinch.
• Turmeric powder- a pinch-optional.

 

 

Method:

1. Wash basmati rice and mildly roast it with ghee.
2. Soak the rice in water ( 1 cup rice to 2 cups water) for 10 minutes in a rice cooker.
3. While the rice is soaking, ( done real time), add butter in a pan and roast all the above mentioned dry spices.
4. Now add chopped onions and saute.
5. While the onions are getting sauted, grind almonds-3, garlic, ginger and khus khus, coconut scrapes to a fine paste.
6. Add the paste to the pan and saute. ( love the aroma at this point)
7. Soak the saffron strands in 1 cup of warm milk.
8. Add the contents from the pan into the rice cooker.
9. Add milk with saffron, cream, salt, sugar, turmeric(optional), rose water and vegetables into the rice cooker.
10. Cook until its done and keep it covered until ready to serve.
11. Gently roast the dry fruits and nuts in ghee.
12. Right before serving,  add the dry fruits/nuts add assorted diced fruits and give it a gentle toss.
13. Sprinkle few drops of rose water and garnish with rose petals and serve!

Note:

1. Since the kashmiri pulav is a lil sweet, I made  a spicy curry to go with it. I served it with Hyderabadi Mirchi Ka Saalan and wow, what an accompaniment to go with this nutty textured fruit pulav.
2. Taking into account the milk we are adding, to reduce the water amount, so the pulav has a  nice texture and not too soft.
3.  Please throw in your ideas and comments, just so I know, if I closely matched the original recipe.

Flavored Milk

It’s 4 pm in the evening…………

Me: Come on honey. It’s time to drink your milk.

My daughter: No mommy. I am busy.

Me: Please da kanna. Come on, drink it quick.

My daughter: Mommy. Stop bothering me.

Me: Drinking milk makes you strong da chellam.

My daughter: (Showing her muscles) See mommy. I am already very strong.

Me:If you drink your milk, I will give you a scoop of ice-cream.

My daughter:Ice-cream is junk food mommy.( all of a sudden she gets  a “nyanodhayam” that ice cream is junk food).

Me: How about your favorite movie “Finding Nemo”?

My daughter: It’s boring!

Me: If you do not drink your milk now, I will give your toys to Riya.( her friend)

My daughter: Yes mommy. we have to share our toys. You can give.

Me: I said, drink it right now, otherwise, the ghosts are gonna come and catch you.

My daughter: There are no ghosts in this world mommy. People just “pretend” to be ghosts during Halloween.

Me: If you do not drink it, I will give  you a adi (Slap).

My daughter with a grumpy face) This is not fair, you dont love me. I will talk to strangers…..

Yes, this is the latest way my 5 old blackmailed me, that she will talk to strangers, (Because we tell her not to talk to strangers). She uses the exact same words. That’s how much she hates milk. Every single day, I have to follow the strategies of Sam, Dhan, Bedh, Dand( the four strategies in Sanskrit literature meaning treating polite, reward, discrimination and punishment respectively) wasting 1/2 hour of my precious time. “Punarapi Jananam, punarapi Maranam”- same story repeats every single day- three times a  day.

 Fall in love with milk contest enthused me to find interesting and fun ways to feed her milk, that she, most kids for that matter hate the most. In the US, we get Strawberry milk, Vanilla milk, Chocolate milk etc. But back home, we used to drink Rose milk, Badam milk (Almond Milk) and Pista (Pistachio) milk, which are very flavorful. They are so tasty, aromatic and the pastel colors are so pleasing to the eyes that, anyone will fall in love with milk.

Flavored Milk

Milk is the most nutritious thing in the world, which is why “Cow is worshipped in the  Hindu culture”. By making milk, more appealing to the kids, I am sure all moms would not only find great relief & lot of time saved, but also feel happy seeing the milk mustache of their kids after they finish the milk.

Ingredients:

• Chilled Whole milk or 2% milk- 1 glass.
• Flavored essence- Rose(pink), Pista ( green), Badam ( yellow) available in indian grocery stores. It adds color and flavor- few drops. The brand I used is “Roopam”-synthetic soft drink concentrate.
• Sugar-if required-1tsp.
• Rose petals,almonds, pistachios for garnish-optional.

Method:

1. You can either use boiled, and cooled milk or pasteurized,, homogenized milk, straight from the refrigerator, add few drops of the essence of your choice with or without sugar. Stir well and enjoy! It literally takes less than a minute to get this ready.
2. Edible rose petals can be used as garnish for Rose milk to add interest.
3. Powdered pistachios can be added for Pista milk and crushed almonds for Badam milk, for that nutty crunch at the end.

Note:

1. If you do not want to have ice-cream, cake or any other high calorie options for dessert, you can simply enjoy this deliciously appealing, yet simple made in a snap-flavored milk as a great dessert drink.
2. I personally like the  pista milk for its wonderful color and elaichi-pista flavor. It’s too good.

Yum yum yum

Submitted to “Fall in Love with Milk event in http://www.sanghi-tastybites.blogspot.com/  Sanghi’s Food delights.