Badam Milk Shake (பாதாம் மில்க் ஷேக்)

A very tasty and yummy drink.

Ingredients
Almonds – 1 cup
Water – 3 cups
Milk – ¾ cup + 2 ½ cups + 1 cup
Saffron – A heavy Pinch
Edible Camphor – A Pinch
Cardamom Powder – ¼ tea spoon
Sugar – ½ cup



Method
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F and keep the almonds in water in the oven for 1 hour. Alternatively you can soak the almonds in warm water for 3 to 5 hours. Peel the almond skin and set aside. Soaking or keeping in the oven enables easy peeling.
Heat 2 ½ cups of milk in a microwave for 5 minutes or until it is almost boils. Alternatively bring 2 ½ cups of milk to a boil on the stovetop.
Grind peeled almonds with ¾ cup milk to a smooth paste and set aside.
Add milk to a pan and bring it to a boil and add the almond paste and stir continuously
Cook on medium to medium low heat for 15 minutes until the mixture thickens
Heat a ladle and add saffron to the ladle and heat for 10 seconds. Crush the saffron with mortar on the ladle and add it to the boiling milk almond mixture
Add edible camphor, sugar and cardamom powder to the milk almond mixture
Remove from heat and allow it to cool for at least 30 minutes. This will thicken considerably after cooling
Now add 3 cups of cold milk and mix well and refrigerate
Garnish with charoli, crushed almonds and serve chilled!!!

Sending this to Milk Sweets, Know your Sweetness - Sugar, Jagruti's page, WTML - Sweets and Savories

Chilli Parotta (சில்லி பரோட்டா)

Some dishes are not at all homey. They never remind of home food. But they may remind of your favorite food at a restaurant. I remember eating a dish called “Chili Parotta” at Vasantha Bhavan during my college days and it was so delicious. We used to go there and order this with raitha and coke.. This was definitely on our order when I went with my family and are mine and my dad’s favorite. Being in US, I did not get this dish to taste. I remember wanting to eat this dish and will look for it in a lot of Menus. But I was so happy when I tried it at home and was able to get that same (ok similar) taste. My husband also likes it and now I am so happy to not wait for going to Vasantha Bhavan to eat it. Although if I go to Vasanta Bhavan again, I would order this!!! At restaurants, I think it is made with parotta which is made with maida. At home, I did it with chapathi which is made with whole wheat flour. I have this control on what I eat and I can choose maida or whole wheat flour.. I love this control.. Calling me a control freak!!!

Ingredients
Parotta – 4
Green Chili – 5
Red Chili – 3
Cumin Seeds – ½ tea spoon
Cashew – 1 table spoon
Cloves – 5
Bay Leaves – 2
Onion (thinly sliced) – 1 cup
Tomato (diced) – 2 table spoons
Garlic – 2 cloves
Ginger (grated) – 1 tea spoon
Oil – 4 – 5 table spoons
Asafetida – 1/8 tea spoon
Red Chili Powder – ½ tea spoon
Chili Sauce – 2 table spoons (add one at a time, taste and add more if required)
Soy Sauce – 2 tea spoons (add one at a time, taste and add more if required)
Coriander Leaves – 1 table spoon
Tomato Paste – 1 table spoon
Turmeric Powder – ½ tea spoon
Salt – ½ tea spoon
Jaggery – 1 tea spoon

Method
Cook the Parotta and cut them into small cubes like an 1 inch piece and set aside
Heat 4 table spoons oil in a pan and once hot, add cumin seeds, fennel seeds, cloves, cinnamon and bay leaves
Add cashew and sauté until light golden on the cashew
Add the green chili, ginger and garlic and sauté for 30 seconds
Add onion and salt and sauté the onions until done
Add tomato paste and mix well and add the tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes are done
Add turmeric powder, red chili powder and asafetida
Add the soy sauce, chili sauce and the jaggery
Once all the spices are well cooked and the raw flavor is gone, add the parotta pieces
Mix all well to ensure they are well incorporated. Add more oil if required
Cook for 2 minutes on medium flame, stir in between to ensure that they do not burn at the bottom, and remove from heat and garnish with coriander leaves
Serve hot!!

Hash Brown / Rosti (ஹாஷ் பிரவுன்)

Hash Browns or Rosti is a type of a dosa made with???? Very hard to guess as it has no flour... The batter is actually potatoes!!! So no flour, no gluten... This one is little tricky but easy to make... It takes around 20 minutes in total from start to finish doing this... Flipping the hash browns is a real trick as this one can break easily when trying to flip. Flipping this should be similar to flipping the cake... Onion is an optional ingredient but adds a lot of taste and flavor. I got this recipe from Alton Brown’s show – Good Eats. I did not do a good justice of photographing this as we were in a hurry for eating this!!
 
Ingredients
Potatoes (Medium Starch) – 3
Butter – 3 table spoons
Onion – ½ cup chopped
Salt – ¾ teaspoon
Pepper – ¾ teaspoon

Method
Refrigerate the potatoes overnight is preferred... One can do without it also. Putting the potatoes in fridge increases their sugar and will make them brown better...
Use a scraper and scrape the potatoes and onions and keep aside
Squeeze all the excess moisture out by pressing with hand. There should be no moisture to get crispy outside and slightly soft and chewy inside
Once a lot of moisture is removed, use a salad spinner to remove the little bit more moisture
Heat ½ table spoon of butter in a skillet. I used Dosa tawa
Take 1/3rd of the potato mixture separately and add ¼ tea spoon salt and ¼ tea spoon pepper
Spread them on the buttered tawa with hand
Make it to a square shape and press from top to get a firm shape
Allow this to cook on medium low for around 5 minutes
Spread ½ tea spoon butter on the side that is up now and flip the hash browns by using the transfer to plate by sliding and inverting from plate to the tawa back technique
Now the hash browns are flipped. Allow the other side to cook for 3 minutes or until done
Remove from heat and serve hot as is or with sour cream, tangy sauces.

Quinoa Idli (Instant)

Quinoa – something I heard a few years ago. A very healthy grain which is a rich source of protein. I got this recipe from here and we love it.. Anytime a quick breakfast, a healthy breakfast and a tasty one is surely a winner as it comes more repeatedly on the menu. This idli screams healthy and is delicious. I served it with coconut chutney.

Ingredients
Quinoa - 1 cup quinoa
Oats - 1/2 cup 
Kezhvaragu Maavu / Ragi flour – 1/2 cup
Sooji / Ravai / Semolina – 1/2 cup
Curd / Yogurt - 1 cup
Coriander Leaves - 2 table spoon (chopped)
Baking Soda – 1 tea spoon
Salt – 1 tea spoon

Method
Heat a pan on high heat for around 2 minutes, and reduce the flame and roast the quinoa for around 2 to 3 minutes and grind to a powder and set aside.Do the same for oats also. Grind them both to a powder and set aside
Mix the ravai, kezhvaragu maavu, salt  and baking soda with the powdered quinoa and oats. Initially add about 1 cup of curd and mix them well with a spatula. Add the chopped coriander leaves and add the remaining yogurt and stir to combine.
The batter should be similar to a normal idli batter consistency, if not add some more water. Grease the idli moulds, and the pour the batter, steam it in the cooker until the idli's are cooked.
Serve warm with sambar and chutney.

Sending this to CWS – Oats, Priya’s page, Breakfast Club, Breakfast Club

Fruits and Nuts Urundai / Fudge

Fruits and Nuts Urundai / Fudge is an interesting, quick, tasty and healthy sweet. You can use any choice of nuts. With lot of festivals lined, we can do this sweet which will be quick and easy but a crowd pleaser.. Another interesting point about this sweet is there are no processed ingredients making it so much healthier. I got this recipe from here and it is a huge hit with my family.

Ingredients
Almonds – ½ cup
Cashews – ½ cup
Pistachio – ½ cup
Quick Cooking Oats – 1 ½ cups
Raisins – ½ cup
Dates – 1 ½ cups (22 – 24)
Ghee – 1 tea spoon + to grease
Cardamom Powder – ½ tea spoon
Nutmeg Powder – ¼ tea spoon
Salt – A pinch

Method
Dry roast oats for 2 to 3 minutes and grind it to a powder when cool and set aside
Dry roast the nuts separately and grind it to a powder when cool and set aside
Grind the raisins to a fine paste and set aside.
Grind the dates to a fine paste and set aside. You can add the nuts powder or the oats powder to make grinding easier
In a mixing bowl, add the oats powder, nuts powder, ground dates and raisins and mix well
Add cardamom powder, nutmeg powder and ghee and mix them all very well until they resemble wet bread crumbs
Consistency we are looking is – if this mixture binds and holds together when you can make a fist
Grease a plate with ghee and also your hands with ghee
Make golf sized or little smaller than golf size balls from the mixture
Fruits and Nuts Fudge / Urundai is ready to be served!!!

Points to note – about Dates (from Wikipedia) - Dates have a high tannin content and are used in traditional medicine as a detersive (having cleansing power) and astringent in intestinal troubles.^{[citation needed]} One traditional belief is that it can counteract alcohol intoxication. The seed powder is also used in some traditional medicines.
from http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/dates.html - The fruit is rich in dietary fiber, which prevents LDL cholesterol absorption in the gut. Additionally, the fiber works as a bulk laxative. It, thus, helps to protect the colon mucous membrane by decreasing exposure time and as well as binding to cancer-causing chemicals in the colon. Dates are an excellent source of iron, contains 0.90 mg/100 g of fruits (about 11% of RDI). Iron, being a component of hemoglobin inside the red blood cells, determines the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood. Further, they are very good in potassium. 100 g contains 696 mg or 16% of daily-recommended levels of this electrolyte. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that help controlling heart rate and blood pressure. They, thus, offers protection against stroke and coronary heart diseases. They are also rich in minerals like calcium, manganese, copper, and magnesium. Calcium is an important mineral that is an essential constituent of bone and teeth, and required by the body for muscle contraction, blood clotting, and nerve impulse conduction. Manganese is used by the body as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase. Copper is required for the production of red blood cells. Magnesium is essential for bone growth. Further, the fruit has adequate levels of B-complex group of vitamins as well as vitamin K. It contains very good amounts of pyridoxine(vitamin B-6), niacin, pantothenic acid, and riboflavin. These vitamins are acting as cofactors help body metabolize carbohydrates, protein, and fats. Vitamin K is essential for many coagulant factors in the blood as well as in bone metabolism.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#21
Sending this to my own event – Anniversary event, Navarathri 2012 event, Favorite recipe - Vegetarian, Celebrate - Navrathri / Diwali, Jagruti's page, My Diwali Basket, Vardhini's Diwali Bash, WTML - Sweets and Savories, Celebrate - Indian Sweets, Nupur's What is With my Cuppa, Surabhi's let's party, Preeti's page, Show me your HITS - Healthy Sweets, Sangeetha's page, CWS – Oats, Priya’s page
 

Rava Laddo (ரவா லாடு)

Rava Laddo is a simple and quick sweet very popular in India done during festivals. The Ingredients are in almost all pantries and this can be done in less than 30 minutes. The main ingredient are ravai and sugar. This sweet has one of the longest shelf life and it will last for a very long time. Add ¼ cup of ghee first and if balls are not formed, then add a table spoon more. This recipe will make around 24 laddos. I love this laddu my mom makes and it tastes so yummy!!!

Ingredients
Ravai  / Sooji - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Ghee – 5 table spoons
Cardamom – 4
Cashew / Almond – 10
Method
Grind the sugar and keep it separate
Roast the ravai till it is well done (golden color and very aromatic)
Grind the ravai once cooled and keep aside
Mix the ravai and sugar powder well
Add cardamom powder and ghee
Now mix it well so that it can be rounded.
Make round balls with cashew / almond and serve


Sending this to my own event – Anniversary event, Navarathri 2012 event, Favorite recipe - Vegetarian, Celebrate - Navrathri / Diwali, Jagruti's page, My Diwali Basket, Vardhini's Diwali Bash, Know your Sweetness - Sugar, Jagruti's page, WTML - Sweets and Savories, Celebrate - Indian Sweets, Surabhi's let's party, Preeti's page

 

Milk Cake

Milk Cake is a very tasty sweet made with just a few ingredients. I got this recipe from here and it was very tasty. With lot of festivals lined up, this is an interesting and new sweet to make. You do not need any special ingredient, most of it is in the pantry. Do not throw away the whey water. It has lot of health benefits. Add it to roti / chapathi while making dough.