Aate ka Laddu | How to Make Wheat Flour Ladoo

Aate ka Laddu | Learn how to make Wheat Flour Ladoo flavoured with ghee and cardamoms

Wishing you all who are celebrating, a very Happy Ganesha Chathurthi!

Being not very religious person, I share a very close relationship with this elephant headed God who has always looked after me and lifted my spirit when I was at my lowest point. He has pulled me from the dark hole and brought me into light which is very humbling to say the least. So it’s no surprise that, this festival is and will always remain my most favourite and closest to heart. Although I had plans of cooking a strom, literally, I am keeping it simple this year with these delicious Aate ka Laddu for my Bappa!

Aate ka Laddu or whole wheat flour ladoos is one of LD’s most favourite Indian sweets made by his Ajji (Paternal grandmother). This simple Indian sweet is made using just 4 ingredients; whole wheat flour, powdered sugar, ghee and cardamom powder. Really! That’s all it needs…

Besan Ke Laddu Recipe | How to Make Besan Ke Ladoo

Learn how to make Besan Ke Laddu ~ Sweet chickpea/gram flour balls flavoured with cardamom and ghee

The festival of lights is here… Diwali or Deepavali is the occasion which brings lot of joy and laughter to fill our days with cheer and hope for something best to come! We are having a quiet Diwali at home as the man of the house is away in Scotland attending a conference and will only be back on Friday night! Which means the young man of the house is seen following me everywhere chattering and asking me non-stop questions as why we have lit dozens of the candles and diyas, what am I cooking, why the house is decked as a bride, what is Diwali, why are we celebrating it, why are we Hindus, who made us Hindus, does it mean we can’t celebrate Christmas, will he still get Christmas presents from Santa and many more until I pretend to faint! I don’t miss the fire crackers back in India as my little fire cracker is here to bombard me with his never ending questions and chatter. :)

On the Diwali eve, our home came alive with flickering of diyas and candles lit in every nook and corner with the soulful evening raga playing in the background. The fragrant smoke of incense, camphor and dhoop waltzed with the fragrance of roses and jasmine. The clang of pots and pans, the heady aroma of saffron, rose water and cardamoms and the joyous laughter in the background was everything that any festivals are about. Unlike last year’s extravagant and loud Diwali which was the first for LD with his grandparents, this year’s celebration is quiet and mellow with just three of us. As it was the case with any festival, we were missing our loved ones on this joyous occasion. The beautiful memories of Diwali of my childhood are something I treasure the most. The light, laughter, joy, great food and a lovely company is something that makes this festival so special. So I feel the real need to create wonderful memories for my young man by carrying out century old traditions passed from one generation to the next. And what better way than the stories of the festival accompanied with a delicious food which is heart and soul of any Indian festivals?!

Easy Gulab Jamun Recipe (With Milk Powder) | Simple Diwali Sweet Recipe

Learn how to make Gulab Jamun ~ An Indian confection of deep fried spongy milk balls soaked in rose scented and cardamom flavoured sugar syrup

It is almost that time of the year in India when winter begins. It is almost that time of the year when the dawn is lightly caressed by the frost. It is almost that time of the year when the golden rays of morning sun passes through the dew drops on the grass making them look like a precious diamonds sewn on the lush green carpets. It is almost that time of the year when the trees sway to the gentle morning breeze in the cool mist. It is almost that time of the year when the soft sun light appears from the distant hills and the birds tweet as they flutter through the dew laden sky! It is almost that time of the year when the summer’s blistering heat and the monsoon’s thundering rains give way to a season of crisp winter months. It is the golden season of Kartik, a season of cool air, chirping birds, dew drops laden fresh grass, the blossoming trees and the time when the entire Indian subcontinent adorns itself in the silky golden hued sunlight to greet the heavenly bodies into welcoming arms!

Carrot Kheer/Payasam Recipe | How to Make Carrot Kheer

Learn how to make Carrot Kheer/Carrot Payasam ~ Thick and creamy Indian sweet pudding of carrots cooked in milk, flavoured with cardamoms and topped with crunchy cashew nuts

Memories… Some memories are like a scripture carved in stones, etched in minds like crystal clear pictures. And then there are kind of memories, like dew drops on rose a petal which melts away as the morning sun kisses them, leaving behind blurry images… Some memories come rushing like waves after soaring high waves of mighty ocean, leaving you giddy headed! And there are other memories that come fluttering like a butterfly, lively and playful but transient at the same time, bringing little flashes from past!

Mysore Pak Recipe | How to Make Mysore Pak | Diwali Sweet Recipe

Learn how to make Mysore Pak or Mysore Paak/Gram Flour Fudge ~ Traditional sweet of Bengal gram/chickpea flour, ghee and sugar flavoured with cardamom powder from Karnataka, a South Indian state  

Once upon a time, many many years ago, there was royal cook named Kakasura Madappa. He was an expert in creating magic with sugar and ghee. Bored with making same kind of sweets and pudding with exquisite and expensive ingredients, one day he decided to experiment with very common and inexpensive ingredient which all aam junta (common man of India) could easily afford. The main ingredient of this sweet which Madappa was experimenting was type casted as ‘to be used in making savoury dishes only’ in the cooking world. Madappa ignored the looks of unapprovals and the little murmurs of snide remarks from fellow cooks and continued his experiment in cooking something remarkable. Little did Madappa and his contemporaries knew that his simple concoction of gram flour, sugar and ghee was about to create a history in the world of sweet confections!

Semiya Kheer or Semige Payasa Recipe | How to make simple Semiya Kheer/Vermicelli Pudding

Semige Payasa or Semiya Kheer 

I am fond of sleeping. Period. 

Long gone are the days when I could sleep when I wished, where I wished and for how ever long I wished! ~sigh~ A sleep which I took for granted has become such a luxury these days! But at last I had undisturbed (well, kind of) and very much deserved good night’s sleep. After series of serious bouts of coughing sessions from Lil Dumpling to HD, I was the latest victim of chesty cough that caught me in its wicked, painful grip! After 2 successive nights and days of coughing till my guts threatened to tore apart, my throat and chest felt like they have been rubbed with sand paper! It was  high doses of antibiotics that came to my rescue and I am happy to announce (for whoever cares or not cares!) that I am still alive and kicking! 

Pineapple Kesari Bhath/Suji ka Halwa Recipe | Pineapple & Semolina Pudding for Deepavali

Pineapple Kesari Bhath or Suji ka Halwa

Fill the Heart with the oil of love.
Place in it the wick of single-pointed mind.
Light it with the Knowledge of Truth and remove
the darkness of ignorance around you.
Just as one lamp can light many lamps; let each
youth kindle this Light in many hearts.'
~Unknown

Rava Laddu/Ladoo Recipe (Suji ka Laddu) | How to make Indian Rava Laddu/Ladoo

Rava Laddu/Ladoo (Suji Laddu)

We live in a busy world, with busy people doing busy things and always busy rushing from point A to B saying they have one tight and busy schedule. This busy world makes you choose things that are simple and are not time consuming and provides resources that will not make your lives busier. So we choose things that will work quickly and without fuss. With all things happening so quickly, we forget to stop and appreciate small, little things. Wondering where this blog post is going to?

Saffron Nan Khatai (Eggless Saffron Cookies Recipe) | Basic Eggless Cookies Recipe

Saffron Nan Khatai/Eggless Saffron Cookies

Little girl with pig tail came running home and her little sister, also in pigtails, was just trailing her. With their big, heavy school bag promptly dumped on their beds, they were just about to rush into wash room to wash their hands and legs when the heady, sweet aroma wafted from their mother’s kitchen.

Panchakajjaya and Ganesh Chaturthi Wishes!

Panchakajjaya

|| Mushikavaahana modaka hastha,

Chaamara karna vilambitha sutra,

Vaamana rupa maheshwara putra,

Vighna vinaayaka paada namasthe ||

Wishing all the readers of Monsoon Spice and my blog friends, a very happy Ganesh Chaturthi! Wishing you all a happiness as big as lord Ganapati’s appetite, life as long as his trunk, trouble as small as his mouse and moments as sweet as his laddus :)

Kesari Bhath/Suji Halwa: A fool-proof recipe

Kesari Bhath/Suji Halwa

I am not too fond of sweets! Period.

~sigh~ Wish I could just stop it there and pen down today’s recipe. Being a chatty person that I am, I have this urge to write a long post before giving the recipe! So bear with me for few more minutes and few more lines of my ramblings… or else simply skip to the recipe part and I won’t mind at all!

Maa Di Dal: Mother of All Dals

Maa Di Dal

Last weekend I grudgingly removed my long jackets along with matching gloves and scarves. The sun still shining on clear blue sky made me almost believe that it’s still summer. But ten steps away from home and I started shivering like a dry leaves about to fall from the maple tree around the corner. Winter is almost here…

Gone are the days of my sexy sandals and sleeveless summer dresses and I look like a stuffed teddy bear sporting long jackets, long boots and woollen scarf. There is still little greenery and colours around me which seems to be quickly fading away leaving naked tree branches against grey sky. Our BBQ kit is snugly sitting in our garden shed along with lawn mower. I am getting up to dark skies every morning and bowl of my favourite cereal with cold milk is not much appealing these days. Driving to office with headlights on is not helping either. Thankfully we are still away from the days of scrapping the thick coat of ice from car windows. But nevertheless winter is almost here…


Two things always cheer me during winters- shopping and food, in no particular order. In spite of gloomy global market slowdown, my winter shopping is going at full fledge. This winter I am adding more colours to my wardrobe and I am happily trotting around wearing my new crimson red long jacket. Yup, colour of love and passion is what I am wearing among all that black and greys. I can’t help but feel like a queen when I tread upon the carpets of gold and crimson, brown and bronze coloured leaves… Silly? Well, I am happy to be silly then…


And coming to food, do I need to say anything about the way it cheers me? Lot of hot and comfort foods are churned every day in my tiny kitchen. I don’t need any central heating when I stand near a gas stove, stirring a pot of hot soup or curries and let the steam and aromas coming from them tickle my nose. Everyday meal turns out be special, not because they contain rich and special ingredients, but because of the experience of sharing it with someone you love. Yes, winter is almost here and now I am loving every moment of it…


To celebrate the true spirit of winter, I cooked a special dish called Maa Ki Dal from Raghavan’s 660 Curries. Maa Ki Dal is probably the mother of all Dals. And this is nothing like a simple dal I make so often to go with rice and pickle, my comfort food. This Punjabi dish is very rich and bit fattening with all that cream and ghee that goes into making this simply superb creamy dream. This lentil recipe uses very few spices and they don’t over power the nutty taste of whole urad dal, channa dal or rajma. Don’t be afraid to use all that cream and ghee as it is ‘once in a while indulgence’ kind of food. Served with freshly made batch of hot Phulkas, it was simply divine. And how can resist from sending this mother of all dals to witty Sra of When My Soup Came Alive as she is guest hosting this month's My Legume Love Affair, a lovely event started by lovely lady Susan. Sorry girl for bombarding your mailbox with my entries but this recipe has to waltz around for MLLA :) This is also my entry for dear Sunshinemom's FIC-Brown.

Whole Urad Dal, Channa Dal and Rajma

Print This Recipe

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Maa Di Dal (Slow cooked Lentils in Creamy Gravy)

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 40-80 mins
Serves: 6-8
Recipe Source: 660 Curries

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Ingredients:
1 cup Whole Urad Dal/Black Lentils
½ cup Channa Dal/Split Chickpeas
½ cup Rajma/Red Kidney Beans, cooked and roughly mashed or 1 cup Cooked/Canned Rajma
2 Bay Leaves
2 pieces of 2 inch Cinnamon Sticks
4 Green Cardamoms or 2 Black Cardamoms
½ - 1 tsp Kashmiri/Deggi Chilli Powder or Paprika
½ tsp Turmeric Powder (Optional)
1 large Onion, finely chopped
4 large Tomatoes, very finely chopped or pureed
1 tbsp Tomato Paste (Optional)
¼ - ½ cup Fresh Cream (I used ¼ cup single cream)
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
¼ tsp Hing/Asafoetida (Optional but I recommend)
2 tbsp Fresh Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
1-2 tbsp Ghee/Oil
Salt to taste

Grind to Paste:
2-4 Green Chillies
1 inch Ginger
4-5 large or 6-7 medium Garlic flakes

Maa Di Dal

Method:

Wash urad dal and channa dal 3-4 times in water till all the impurities are removed. Place it in a heavy bottomed pan or pressure cooker and add about 4-5 cups of water and bring it to boil. Skim the foam formed on surface.
Now add the ground paste of chilli-ginger-garlic, bay leaves, cardamoms, cinnamon stick, and turmeric powder. Cover the lid and let it cook for 60 minutes, stirring in between, till the lentils falls apart. If using pressure cooker cook for 20-25 minutes or 4-5 whistles. Let the pressure be released before you open the pressure cooker lid.
Heat ghee/oil in a pan and add jeera and hing. When jeera starts to sizzle and turn golden red shade, add finely chopped onion and sauté till it turns golden brown, about 2-3 mins. Add finely chopped tomatoes or pureed tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes in medium flame till the oil separates from the mixture.
To this add chilli powder, salt to taste, cooked lentils and mashed red kidney beans. Add about a cup of water to the pan in which lentils are cooked to deglaze it and mix this water to the gravy. Mix in the cream and let the whole gravy simmer for at least 15 minutes for all the flavours to blend well. Add little more water if needed but make sure that the gravy is thick and not runny. At this stage you can also add dash of lime/lemon juice needed.
Serve this delicious creamy Maa Di Dal, garnished with finely chopped coriander leaves and a dash of ghee if needed, with any Roties or Chapatti and enjoy. And yes, it tastes better when served next day.

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Note:

Addition of Hing is optional but recommended.
To cut down the cooking time, you can soak whole Urad dal in water overnight or for 4-5 hours.
Replace cream with yogurt for healthy option.

Food from Heaven: Pongal

Pongal

Some foods are comforting. Some are nutritious. And some are simply divine. Pongal is one such dish which is comforting, nutritious and also divine. Just the thought of ‘Pongal’ conjures up sweet memories of my Doddappa and Doddamma performing the Puja daily in their estate temple. Growing up in a joint family for first 6 years of my tender life, I remember spending most of my time with my Doddappa (Dad’s elder brother) and Doddamma (Dad’s SIL). For me they were another set of loving grandparents as my Appa was just one year old when Doddamma stepped into our large joint family as a first daughter-in-law, taking huge responsibility on her very young shoulder. No wonder my Appa felt so close to his ANNa (brother) and Attige (SIL) and involved them in almost all the major decisions he took.

I was one of those spoiled little brats who was born in a large joint family when almost all other kids were in their early teens. Yes, I was the only baby in our big family and was never short of love, affection and undivided attention from everyone. I grew up being a centre of attention and attraction for two happy years of my life till my little sister decided to pop all of sudden and spoil it for me ;) Grudgingly I had to share spot light with my sister and soon with my cousin brother. I remember asking my Dodda’s whom they loved the most. And every time they would hold me close to their heart and whisper it was me and it will always be me.

It was no surprise I spent most of my time playing in my Doddappa’s clinic which was attached to the main house, than playing with my sister and other cousins. I was his little helper. It was while counting the tablets for his patients I got my first lessons of mathematics. It was while picking the herbs from his herb garden for medicines where I leant the basics of Ayurveda. It was while helping the people to cure their disease and relive them from pain where I learnt about empathy and the art of being a good listener. And above all these I learnt how to be kind, generous and a good human being from my Doddas.

After moving to different city for education, I and my sister would eagerly look forward to our Navarathri and summer holidays where we would spend one full week at our Doddas estate. Every morning I would wake up the waft of sandalwood, heady smell of Agarbatti and Dhupa and the fast rhythmic chanting of my Doddappa sitting on floor in lotus position in Devara Kone (God’s room). While Doddappa was busy performing the Puja, Doddamma was busy with her daughters-in-law preparing Neivedyam which was offered to God. One day it would be just plain steamed rice, other day it would be Rice Payasam. But it would always be Pongal for special occasions like birthdays, anniversaries and festivals. Rice and lentils cooked with few spices till they fall apart and become little mushy, a lovely medley offered to God. While green chilli and black pepper corns give it small dose of spiciness, tadka and ginger gives it a wonderful flavour. This Neivedyam was taken to the small temple in our estate where it was first offered to God and then given to us in a small bowl made using Jackfruit leaves as Prasad (blessed food). Oh!!! Fond memories of childhood and the people who made it so much special and wonderful….

My favourite way of making Pongal is with good spoonfuls of Thuppa or Ghee, just the way Doddamma made it. Whenever I make it here I can almost hear her saying

“Make sure you don’t insult Pongal by using just a spoonful of Thuppa. Be generous with Thuppa when you make Pongal because it is God’s food. If you can’t make Pongal with lots of love and Ghee then it is not fit for you, your family and your God.”

I try to remember my Doddamma’s pearls of wisdom like these while cooking. Some foods are just divine and they are meant to be cooked that way. This post is very dear to me and it is dedicated to two people who are very close to my heart. In two days it will be the first death anniversary of my Doddappa. It will be a grand celebration because he believed in celebrating life and death, which was just the beginning of new life. Doddappa and Doddamma, I miss you. I am sending thsi food from heaven to Susan of the Well Seasoned Cook, who is hosting My Legume Love Affair-Second Helping.

Print This Recipe

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Pongal (Rice & Lentils Medley)
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 30 mins
Serves: 2-4
Recipe Source: My Doddamma

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Ingredients:
1½ cups Rice (preferably Sona Masuri or you can use Basmati as I have used here)
1 cup Yellow Moong Dal/Split Green Gram
½ cup Cashews
8 cups Milk+Water (I used 1 cup Milk+7 cups Water)
2-3 Green Chillies, slit (Optional)
1 inch Ginger
1 tsp Black Pepper Corns, lightly crushed or used as whole
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
Few Curry Leaves
3-4 tbsp Thuppa/Ghee/Clarified Butter
Salt to taste

Rice, Moong Dal & Cashews for Pongal

Method:

Heat a pan and add yellow moong dal. Roast it on medium flame, sautéing continuously, till it turns golden yellow, about 3-4 mins. Let it cool completely.
In a same pan add ½ tbsp of ghee and add cashews. Roast it on medium to low heat till they turn golden. Keep it aside.
Mix roasted moon dal and rice and wash it in cold water 3-4 times till the water turns clear. Drain all the water and keep it aside.
Heat 2 tbsp of Ghee in a thick bottomed pan or pressure cooker. Add jeera, pepper corns and curry leaves. When jeera starts to sizzle, add slit green chillies, ginger, rice and dal and mix well till every grain is coated with ghee, about 1-2 mins.
Now add milk, water and salt to taste and mix well. Cover the pressure cooker lid with weight and cook it on medium-high flame for 15-20 mins. Let it the pressure be released completely before opening the lid, about 5 mins.
If using thick bottomed pan, cover the lid and let it cook undisturbed for 10-12 mins on high flame. By this time water will start to bubble and pour from vessel. Remove the lid; mix the rice and lentils properly. Again cover the vessel with lid, leaving little gap to escape the steam. Let it cook this way for another 5-10 mins till the rice and dal is plumped and doubled in volume. Remove the vessal from gas.
Mix in roasted cashews with ghee, 1-2 tbsp of ghee. Cover and let it sit for another 10 mins for the flavours to blend. Serve this hot with any chutney, lightly spiced curry/Kurma or with my favourite, Raita or plain curds.

Pongal served with Mango & Yogurt : My Divine Food

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Note:

The consistency of Pongal can vary depending on your preference. Some people prefer it very mushy like porridge and add more water while making it. So please adjust the water and milk quantity according to your preference.

Related Posts:

• Cooking with Love: Huli-Menasina Kodhel
• Akki Shavige with Rasayana & Menthe Chutney
• Recipes from Ajji's Kitchen- Brahmi Tambli
  

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Reminder for JFI-Soya:

I invite you all to celebrate Jihva for Ingredients with this month’s theme JFI-Soya. Choice of Soya products, the recipe, ingredients, method etc is entirely left to you. I would greatly appreciate if you can send me any Vegan or Vegetarian recipes but I leave it to your choice. Soya foods include tofu, tempeh, textured vegetable protein (chunks, mince etc), miso, soya sauces, soya oil and margarine, and soya dairy alternatives.

Deadline: 31st August, 2008

Please go through the guidelines and include all the required information in your post and also in your e-mail while sending your entry. Don't forget to add Your Name, Your Blog Name, Name of the Dish, Type of Dish and Perm Link of the entry along with the gorgeous Photo of final dish.

Click Here or on the logo to find out more information on this event.

Kashi Halwa

My MIL has so many traditional recipes in her magic hat and always surprises me with one thing or the other. I always wonder if I will have that kind of enthusiasm, patience and energy to cook complicated and very time consuming delicacies. She always makes me speechless with her delicious parade of dishes. I feel like an amateur when I compare my cooking with that of my Amma and Atte. I guess most of us will have same kind of feeling. The extra oomph comes with the love with which they cook and serve.

Kashi Halwa

Today is a time to share one of the very few sweets I love. (Oh yes!!! I am not a sweet person but my hubby compensates that part for me.) This delicacy is popularly known as Kashi Halwa. Ok!!! Now I need a favour from you guys. I have no idea as why it’s called as Kashi Halwa. Is it because it’s served as Prasad in Kashi or these are some other reason? All I know is its made using white pumpkin and its tastes heavenly. So here is the recipe.

Kashi Halwa

Ingredients:
1 kg Ash Gourd
2 cups Sugar (Adjust according to your taste)
2 cups Ghee
Few Cashew Nuts

Kashi Halwa

Method:
Remove the skin and seeds of the ash gourd and grate it.
Cook it till it looses all its moisture and becomes dry.
Now add sugar and again keep stirring till it becomes dry and changes its colour to golden brown.
Now add ghee and keep stirring continuously till the ghee floats on top.
Add cashew nuts and mix well.
Remove from fire and transfer it into storage container once it cools.
You can serve it hot or cold as desired.

Kashi Halwa

I love eating it as it is as it simply melts in your mouth. Or if you want to make it more interesting you can serve this with a dollop of vanilla or any other ice cream. I have figured out that it tastes divine with saffron ice cream. Although it’s very time consuming the end result is simply superb.

Genasale (Coconut+Jaggery stuffed Rice Cakes) and 3 Things MEME

Well friends, at last I am over (not entirely) with jetlag and homesickness. Thought I will start my new year's blog entry with our all time favourite Genasale aka Kai Kadabu (Kai means Coconut in Kannada) which is very well known and loved dish in Karnataka, especially in South Canara. It’s so much loved back in India that its one of the main Prasad offered to Lord Ganesha on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi.
It is one of the easiest recipes and requires very less preparation and ingredients. So not wasting much of your time I’ll straight away come to the point.

Genasale Served with Coconut-chilly chutney and Ghee

Ingredients:
2 Cups Rice
2 Cups grated Fresh Coconut
¾ Cup Jaggery (according to taste)
½ tsp Cardamom Powder
Salt to taste
Few Banana Leaves

Genasale

Method:
Soak rice in water for 1-2 hours and them grind to smooth batter with salt and enough water. The batter should be of pouring consistency.

In a bowl mix grated coconut, jaggery powder, cardamom powder and a pinch of salt. Mix them well. You can add more jaggery if you like.

Take a banana leaf and spread the batter thinly.

To this spread the coconut mixture evenly covering the batter well.

Fold the leaf like hand kerchief (as shown above).

Place them in a steamer and steam cook them for 10 minutes in high flame and another 20-30 minutes in medium flame.

Traditional Steamer

Let them cool down a bit before you serve. Serve them with dash of Ghee and Spicy Coconut Chilli Chutney.

Kai Genasale/Kai Kadabu

3 THINGS MEME:

Thank you Seema and Pooja for tagging me for 3 Things MEME..

3 Things that scare me:
Being alone
Rats
Losing loved ones

3 people who make me laugh:
Homer Simpson from "The Simpsons"
My little sis and hubby with their PJs
My Appa and Amma with their debates ;)

3 Things I love:
First rain and the smell of earth
Shopping
Long walks (Usually when I go out for shopping it also becomes long walks)

3 Things I hate:
Messy house
Mean and cruel people
Abuse in any form and mean.

3 Things I don't understand:
Finance Subjects
Spanish, Greek, German, French…
Some PJ’s cracked by my hubby

3 Things on my desk:
Laptop
Flowers
Cell Phone

3 Things I am doing right now:
Listening to music
Waiting for my hubby to return from his office
Thinking what to cook for dinner

3 Things I want to do before I die:
Bake tiered cake
Learn as many languages as possible
Learn pottery

3 Things I can do:
Watch boring movies till “The End”
Become a kid with kids and watch cartoon with them at streach
Listen (means actually listen) to anything my family and friends want to say

3 Things one should listen to:
Your loved ones
Music, any music which cheers you
Good advice which can make you a better person

3 Things I would never want to listen to:
Weather reports (Always give wrong info, but i still listen ;)
Liers
Nonsense

3 Favourite foods:
Masala Dosa
Ganji (Boiled rice)
Pickles, lots of them

3 beverages I drink regularly:
Water
Orange Juice
Butter milk/ Curds

3 TV shows I watched as a kid:
Udaan
Ramayan
Tom and Jerry Cartoons

3 books I read as a kid:
Amar Chitra Katha
Nancy Drew
Tinkle (I still have got shelf full of them)

3 of my dearest friends whom I would like to tag for this meme:
I guess most of my blog buddies have already been tagged...
So no point in tagging again:) Will check everyone's blog at leisure and tag..

Thanks to Seema and Pooja once again... I enjoyed writing this MEME...

Badam(Almond) Halwa

Badam Halwa is a traditional dish from the northern region of India delicacy that does full justice to the creamy texture and flavor of almonds.

Lip Smacking Badam Halwa

Ingredients:
1 cup Badam/Almonds
11/2 cups Sugar
30 gms Ghee
3-4 Cardamom
1/4 cup Milk
Few stings of Saffron

Badam Halwa

Method:
Soak the Badam for 1/2 hour in hot water and peel the skin off.
Grind them to smooth paste with milk and keep it aside.
Take sugar in a kadai, add some water to it and boil it until you get a thin string.
To this add ground paste and mix it well.
Then add the ghee little by little and stir it well. Keep the gas in medium flame.
After 8 minutes switch off the gas and remove the kadai from heat and keep on stirring.
As it starts getting cold it will become solid.
Then spread it in a plate and sprinkle almond flakes.

Badam Halwa

Tip:
While stirring, the halwa will become thick and it will come along with the spatula you are stirring with without sticking to the bottom, that is the sign for the halwa being done.
If stirred for a longer duration, you will be able to enjoy delicious almond barfi pieces.

Panasa Thonalu

Panasa Thonalu is a South Indian sweet dish which i found in food blogger buddy KrishnaArjuna's Blog. Its such a simple dish and can be prepared when you dont have much time and your friends are about to bang your door. The ingredients used are same which I use to make Malpuri (Soon I will Post). You can always try giving different shape to this sweet and give your own name.

Panasa Thonalu

Ingredients:
Maida(all purpose flour) - 2 cups
Ghee(clarified butter) - 4 tbsps
Water - enough for kneading the flour
Oil - For frying
For the Syrup:
Sugar - 1 cup
Water - 1 cup

Panasa Thonalu

Method:
The syrup making process: Mix the sugar and water in a skillet and let it sit on medium heat stirring it every couple of minutes. In about 20 mins the syrup should be ready. Its always recommended to prepare syrup ahead of time.

Mix the maida(all purpose flour) and ghee by adding a little water . Knead the dough for a few minutes(consistency should be similar to chapathi dough). Cover the dough with wet kitchen towel and let it sit for a half hour.
Take walnut sized balls of the flour and roll them flat like a roti(shape doesn't matter). Make a few slits lengthwise keeping the ends intact. Now roll each of the rotis into a bundle and slightly press the ends so that they would look similar to the one in the following picture.. and there, you have a panasa thona! Repeat the process for the whole dough.
Heat oil in a kadai and when the oil is hot enough. Fry the panasa thonalu till they turn light brown. Take them out of the oil and drain the oil on a paper towel. Transfer them immediately into the sugar syrup.
Let the pananthonalu cool off a little bit before transferring them into a storage container.

Panasa Thonalu

Gajar(Carrot) ka Halwa

As today is Vijaya Dashami I felt like cooking some authentic Indian sweet. What else can be better than Carrot Halwa which hardly takes anytime... My mom is a expert when it comes to Gajar ka Halwa... there are different ways of making it...Here is my mom's recipe...

Gajar(Carrot) ka Halwa

Ingredients:
3 Cups of grated carrots
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 cup of sugar
1-2 tblsp of Ghee
Few strings of Saffron
Few Cashwes and Raisins
4-5 Cardamom

Ingredients

Method:
Take grated carrots and milk in a pan and cook.
When the carrot is almost cooked add sugar and cook for few more minutes.
When the sugar is melted add a spoon or two of Ghee.
Fry cashews and raisins in ghee and add them to the halwa mixture.
Atlast add cardamom powder and mix them well.
Transfer the halwa into a serving dish and garnish them with cashwes and raisins. Serve it hot or cold.

Gajar(Carrot) ka Halwa

Tip:
You can serve hot carrot halwa with vanilla icecream which compliments each other vey well.