Happy Halloween

Eid Mubarak

To all my Muslim friends Eid Mubarak...




note: photo from yahoo photos.

Chocolate Dipped Dry Fruit Chikki

It has been a tradition of giving and receiving gifts on diwali. Most people give or take sweets or dryfruits as gifts.
As we receive dryfruit hampers as gifts on Diwali I thought of making dryfruit chikki, which is healthy, tasty and easy to prepare.

Ingredients:
1. Badam 4 oz(approx. 1 cup) (Roasted and chopped)
2. pista 4 oz(approx. 1 cup) (Roasted and chopped)
3. cashew 4 oz(approx. 1 cup) (Roasted and chopped)
4. jaggery ¼ cup (grated)
5. kesar-few soaked in milk
6. ghee 2 big spoons.
7. Semi sweet chocolate bar(7 oz) - 1

Method:
1. Grate jaggery.
2. Put grated jaggery and add ghee in a kadai, mix well and melt nicely to a fine paste.
3. To this add kesar, badam, pista and cashew nuts & mix well until the mixture leaves the sides of the kadai.
4. Spread little ghee in a tray and pour the dry fruit mixture and spread evenly,
roll flat to 1 cm in thickness
5. Cool it and cut into squares cool it.
6. Grate the chocolate and melt it on a double boiler. Double boiling is very easy - take the chocolate in a glass blow and put it on boiling water to melt the chocolate.
7. When it melts dip half of the chikki in it. Put it on a parchment paper. Dry it and store it in a air tight container.

This is my first entry for JFI: Diwali Treats hoasted by Vee of Past, Present and Me.

Happy Diwali ..............

GODDESS LAKSHMI AARTI

Jai lakshmi maataa, maiyaa jai lakshmi maataa
tumko nishadin dhyaavata, hara vishnu vidhaataa
brahmaani, rudraani, kamlaa, tu hi hai jaga maataa
surya chandramaa dhyaavata, naarada rishi gaataa
durgaa rupaa nirantara, sukha sampati daataa
jo koi tumko dhyaavata, riddhi siddhi dhana paataa
tu hi hai paatala basanti, tu hi shubha daataa
karma prabhaava prakaashaka, jaganidhi ke traataa
jis ghara mein tum rahati, saba sadaguna aataa
kara sake koii kara le, mana nahin ghabaraataa
tuma bina yagya na hove, vastra na koii paataa
khaana paana ka vaibhava, sab tumse hi aataa
shubha guna mandira sundara, kshirodadhi jaataa
ratana chaturdasha tuma hi, koii nahin paataa
aartii lakshmii ji ki, jo koii nar gaataa
ura aananda umanga ati, paap utar jaataa
Jai lakshmi maataa, maiyaa jai lakshmi maataa

Jai bolo maataa lakshmi ke jai.......

Ras Malai

Ingredients
1/2 lbs (appr. 250 gms) Paneer/Chhena
1/2 galon whole milk
2 lbs sugar
4 tbsp. Flour
10 strands saffron
1/4 cup sliced pistachios
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Method
1. Knead and mash paneer/chenna, add 2 tablespoons flour and mash again to make a dough.
2. Divide it into equal portions, make balls ,flatten them and keep aside.
3. Prepare a sugar syrup by dissolving 1/2 lbs sugar in the 500 mls. of water.
4. Now add the dough portions in it and cook over a high flame for 6- 8 minutes.
5. Add half a cup of water and again bring it to a boil. Cook for another 5 minutes.
6. Remove them and keep them in the sugar syrup .
7. Now take milk in a pan, bring it to a boil, Keep on stirring continuously. Simmer until it is reduced to a thick consistency.
8. Add rest of the sugar and keep on a boiling till the sugar is completely dissolved.
9. Remove from the flame and refrigerate for an hour.
10. Add the soaked balls and Sprinkle the saffron. Keep in refrigerator for another half an hour.
11. Swirl the milk with a light hand just before serving as it will give beautiful yellow color of saffron and the white of the milk.
12. Serve cold, garnished with sliced pistachio nuts, almonds.

Bagara baingan (Stuffed Egg Plants)

Ingredients:
1. Brinjals (small variety) - 1 lbs,
2. Tamarind (walnut-sized) - soaked in 1 cup water (extract pulp),
3. Garlic - 6 flakes garlic (chopped)
4. Ginger - 1"piece, onion (chopped fine)- 1,
5. Jeera & Methi seeds - 1 tsp,
6. Dhania - 2 tsp,
7. Til- 2 tsp,
8. Peanuts - 12,
9. Dry khopra - 2" piece (finely grinded),
10. Chilli powder - 2 tsp,
11. Haldi - ½ tsp,
12. Oil - 4-5 tbsp,
13. Few curry leaves,
14. Red chillies (broken) - 2,
15. Salt to taste.
16. Bay leaves 2
Method:
1.Roast the following in a few drops of oil and grind to a paste: til, peanuts, dry coconut, dhania, jeera, methi and chopped onion.
2.Grind the following: ginger, garlic, chilli powder and haldi. Mix both the pastes and add salt to taste. Set aside.
3.Slit brinjals in four keeping the stem intact, put them in salted water.
4.Deep fry the brinjals in oil till they are half cooked and cool them.
5.Stuff the brinjals with masala paste. Heat oil and add mustard seeds, broken red chillies, bay leaves and curry leaves. Fry a little before putting in the stuffed brinjals and tamarind water. Cook covered on slow heat till tender.
6.Can be served with bagara rice, jeera rice, roti, puri...

The Angrez(part 2)(To watch click the play button)

really nice movie

The Angrez (To watch click the play button)

Hyderabadi Movie... nice movie. Really Nice!!!!!!

Double Ka Meeta

Ingredients :
1 Loaf of Bread
1 litre Milk
500gms Sugar
250gms Double cream
250gms Pure Ghee
100gms Chopped & roasted cashew nuts
100gms Almonds (soaked and chopped)
10gm Saffron
5 Cardamom powdered

Method :

1. Cut each bread slice into four pieces.
2. Fry them in ghee till golden brown.
3. Make a sugar syrup by adding half a litre of water to the sugar and boil it for 15 minutes. Add the powdered cardamom and the saffron dissolved in milk to the sugar syrup. Boil milk until it is thickened.
4. Arrange the fried bread pieces on a flat tray and sprinkle the chopped nuts on them. Pour the sugar syrup, double cream and milk alternately over the bread pieces while they are still hot.

Finally refrigerate and serve as dessert.

Diwali and Ramadan Season

Hi all!

It is Ramadan and Dilwali season going on in Hyderabad. So I thought of sharing some festive recpies for both the festivals.

: )

Haleem

Ingredients:

Wheat grains 1/2 kg (crushed and soakedin water for 1 1/2 hour)
Mutton or beef 1 1/2 kg
Gram lentils 1 cup (soaked and boiled)
Onions 3 (medium size, thinly sliced)
Ginger and garlic paste 2 tbsp
Garam masala 1 tsp (ground)
Red chilli powder 2 tbsp
Coriander powder 1 1/2 tbsp
Turmeric powder 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Ghee 1 1/2 cups
Soda 1 pinch

Seasoning & Garnish:

Fresh mintleaves 1 bunch (finely chopped)
Fresh coriander 1 bunch (finely chopped)
Green chilli (finely chopped)
White cumin 1 tsp (roasted and ground)
Garam masala 1 tsp (ground)
Ginger 2 (medium size pieces, finely chopped)
Onion 1 (large sized, thinly sliced)
Lemons 4 (cut into quarters)
Ghee 2 cups

Method:

Heat Ghee in a pan. Put meat in the pan,
add garlic, garam masala, red chilli powder,
coriander powder, turmeric and salt. Cook on
medium heat. In a separate pan boil wheat
grains with lots of water, add salt. When the
grains become tender and mushy add pinch
of soda in it and cook further for 15-20
minutes.

Now mix the wheat grains with the meat and
mix well. Stir continuously so that both are
mixed properly. Now grind the lintils in a
food processor. Make it into a thick paste by
adding 2 cups of water while processing it.
Pour the lentil paste into the meat and wheat
mixture and stir to mix well. Place the pan on
a heavy griddle (tava) on low heat and cook
for 30-40 minutes. Fry the slices onion in
ghee and drain on absorbent paper.

When the Haleem is cooked, sprinkle fried
onions, garam masala, fresh mint and
coriander leaves. Also garnish with cumin
and ginger. Keep a little of the seasoning
seperate and serve with Haleem.