Ice cream Cake

In my home town there is a very beautiful ice cream parlor called 'Arasan ice cream'. It is famous for its Ice cream , chocolate cakes, falooda, Ice-cream cakes and desserts. The interiors are so cool and creative. No need to say it is always crowded by youngsters and couples. It is my most favorite spot even now and we have tasted almost all the varieties there:)
Whenever I talk about those lovely days, hubby has always expressed his craving for this icecream cake. So I planned to do it for our Thanks giving party (2009).

I could not get a complete procedure through internet. I coined my own version and had some challenges like the melting ice cream and timing sense etc:) But I managed to get a perfect one and we finally got our native style ice cream cake.

Icecream cakes can be made in two ways. One by crushing the cookies and pressing them to form a cake and top it with ice cream . The next method is to bake a cake and freeze it with ice cream

Mine belongs to the second variety.

I always prefer to incorporate some store bought goodies to reduce my cooking time. So if you are looking for one from scratch , then you need to research more. But I am sure this recipe won't disappoint you . Here is the ice cream cake and get ready to surprise your guests with this delicious cake.

Ice cream cake:




Ice cream cake served:



(Pardon me for my unprofessional icing)


You may need:
Ice cream (French vanilla flavor) - 1 liter.
A cake mix (white cake mix) - 1 packet
(I used Betty crocker super moist white cake mix )
Cake frosting mix - 15 oz tin
(I used Pillsburry funfetti frosting mix)
A fruit jam - 1 cup
(I made my own strawberry preserve)
A flat plate
Sharp knife.

To prepare strawberry spread:
Strawberry - 10
Sugar - 1/4 cup

Chop the strawberry and cook it with 2 tbsp water and sugar till it gets a preserve like consistency.
Cool and store it in refrigerator.
(We can use a store bought preserve also).

Cake frosting Method:
Bake two square shape cakes from the above said cake mix, as per instructions in your box.

Cool them completely. Keep them in refrigerator overnight for better cooling effect.

Level the cake with a sharp knife by removing the dark surface.

Slice each cake into two , so that we can stack up the icecream, frosting and strawberry preserve as layers.

Now place one slice of the cake on a flat plate. Spread the cake frosting mix.

Take out the ice cream from freezer and spread 3 scoops over the frosting mix.
Immediately keep the ice cream inside freezer.

Place another slice of cake over it. Spread the Strawberry jam we made uniformly.

Place another slice of cake over the strawberry spread.
Now spread the frosting mix and ice cream above this slice.

Finish all the above procedure within three minutes. This is very very important.

Immediately place the next slice above it and keep in freezer for nearly an hour.

Then take it again do cover the top of the cake completely with cream frosting mixture.
Again let it cool for another 15 minutes inside the freezer.

Now take out the cake and icecream , carefully cover the whole cake with ice cream....starting from the bottom sides.

If you feel it is melting then cool it inside freezer for 10 minutes and finish it.

After 5 hours sprinke the sugar balls or decorate as per the need.

Ice cream cake is ready!

Note:
This procedure may seem very difficult. But if you imagine layering a sandwich then it will be an easy breeze.

Always keep the ice cream in side the fridge before we start decorating the cake.
During frosting process, for every 3 minutes outside keep the cake and icecream inside the freezer for 10 minutes and continue decoration. Otherwise everything will melt down and we may need to recreate.

Event:
Sending this Ice cream cake for Saraswathy Iyer's cakes n cookies event.
Saraswathy has completed 3 years in blogging and celebrating an anniversary through this beautiful event.
Congrats saraswathy!Your blog really rocks! You have so many unique recipes and I love them very much. Your delicious wheat dosa has helped me much in the diet plan.
Thanks and happy hosting dear!

My other entries are as follows:-

1. Butter biscuit

2.Christmas plum cake.

3.Easter bunny's carrot cake

4.Frosted sugar cookies.

Beautiful awards.....

Last week I got a beautiful award from Vinolia of Akal's Saapadu. I know, I know...our Vino doesn't need an intro'. She is known for her explicit recipes ,helpful for even a novice to master the art of cooking. I love her desserts, especially the western style ones made with the perfection of a professional and the vast variety of non veggies too.



I feel so honored to receive this award from an expert like her. Thank you dear!

Another cute award is from Malar of Kitchen Tantra. We all know Malar is a great blogger with a flair to cook authentic foods with rich quality. Her Non veg foods are noteworthy. I am sure her cooking classes are in great demand for the royal Moghal cuisines . Don't miss her wise anecdotes as they will enlighten us with the history and the medicinal secrets behind the food.



Thanks Malar. I feel so glad to get this from a knowledgeable person like you!

Kadappa

Kadappa is the traditional side dish for Poori or Idly, dosai in Tanjore of TamilNadu, India.

As the theme of this blog is to remember my mom's passion for cooking, I am narrating here how she got this recipe. Long back, as a newly married couple mom and dad visited her sister's family in Tanjore. And there she had this kadappa with poori and dosa in a restaurant. Then she searched for the recipe through cook-books and finally arrived at this one. After that it has become our favorite too.

This dish resembles a kuruma like gravy with dhal as a base. Turmeric and tomato are not generally added, as the primary color of the kadappa should be white / beige. So easy to prepare and great to enjoy for a special weekend:)



Ingredients:
Potato - 4
green gram dhal (paasi paruppu / chiru paruppu) - 1/4 cup
Red onion - 1
mustard seed - 1/2 tsp
Bay leaf - 1
oil - 1 tbsp
salt - to taste
lemon - 1/2

Masala - 1
puffed channa dhal (pottu kadalai) - 1 tbsp
poppy seed - 1/2 tsp
green chilly - 6
cinnamon - 1 inch
cloves (kirambu) - 2
fennel seed (sombu) - 1 tsp
shredded coconut - 1/2 cup

Masala -2
ginger - 1 inch
garlic - 5 pearls

Method:
Wash the potatoes well. Pressure cook the potatoes and green gram dhal for 2 whistles.
Peel and chop potato into small cubes.
Slice the onion into small pieces.

Heat oil in a wok and splutter the mustard seed. Then add bay leaves.

Now goes the chopped onion. Fry till it becomes tender. Then add the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell vanishes.
Then add the cubed potatoes and green gram dhal.

Grind the items given under masala 1 and add it to the potatoes in wok.

Add salt and let it boil for five minutes.

After switching off , add the lime juice and serve hot.

Kadappa is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve with dosa or poori / roti /idly / chapathi.

Note :
1.we can prepare it without tempering also.

2.Pressure cook raw, chopped potato with green gram and all masalas including ginger garlic together. Then temper after it gets cooked. Add lime juice at the end. This is the short cut method.

Rasgulla

Rasgulla / Rosgulla is a famous Indian Bengali sweet. It is usually served as dessert along with some jeera (syrup).
It is my hubby's top pick whenever we visit some Bengali sweet shop. So I prepare this often in small batches before he starts craving :)

There are two ways to make the rasgulla. The authentic version is to slow cook in a half closed pan and the modern type is to pressure cook it.
I am used to the authentic one, which my mom taught. I feel it as more safer to make soft rasgullas. My mom's recipe note book would emphasize the usage of lemon instead of vinegar and rose essence instead of cardamom. I followed her way completely and got the best result.

Here comes the well known recipe.

Chenna after straining:


Rasagulla soaked in sugar syrup:


Ingredients:
Milk (full fat) - 1 litre (5 cups)
AP flour (maida) - 2 tsp
Lemon - 1
(or)vinegar - 2 tbsp
Sugar - 1 1/2 cup
Water - 1 cup
Rose essence - 3 drops
(or)cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Method:
Boil milk in a vessel.
Squeeze the lemon and mix 1/2 cup water to the juice.
Add the lemon juice / vinegar to the boiling milk and stir slowly.
Put off heat.
Now the milk gets curdled to form paneer (a cheese variety).

(Chenna preparation is beautifully explained by Vinolia. So just click to see if you need more clarity.)

Place a cheese cloth / new white cloth over the strainer and pour the curdled milk.
Pour some cold water to remove the lemon's sourness.
Squeeze out all the water and make a bundle using the cloth. Place it on the strainer or hang over a kitchen sink to loose all the water content.
Let it remain in this position for 45 mins to 2 hours , depending upon the quantity.

The hard cheese we get is called chenna. We can buy it in Indian grocery stores also.

Now knead the chenna to make a smooth dough. Add flour and knead again.

Make small balls of equal size of 1.5 cm diameter approximately and keep aside.

In another vessel mix sugar and water in a saucepan and bring it to boil.

Once it starts boiling add the chenna balls and cook covered for 30 minutes (with lid partially open).

The rasagulla will become double the size.

Drop one ball in cold water and if it sinks to the bottom , then it is cooked well.
If not so , then cook for another 5 minutes.

Switch off flame and add rose essence / cardamom powder.

Rasgulla is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve chilled as dessert.
The above said quantity is enough to make 15 - 20 rasgullas.

Tips:
Apply some ghee and roll the rasgulla balls , as the cracked ones may disintegrate quickly.
some people prefer pressure cooking the rasgulla instead of my pan method.
We can add 1/2 the quantity of sugar and some Zero calorie sweetener to get a more healthier version too.

Advent season, an award and some reposts.

Anu Ramesh of Anu's Kitchen has presented me the below award. Before that I would like to mention here a few things about this wonderful budding blogger. Anu has a lovely collection of recipes along with adorable pictures. Moreover she has the spirit to appreciate and encourage others. I am so glad that she passed me this inspiring award.


Thanks Anu, I feel honored.

Smart Chef award:
Now I am wondering...OMG ! people are showering me with love and how should I reciprocate!
I can't think of anything else but a group hug and to create an award:)
I am sure everyone who loves to cook surely deserves this award.



Actually I wanted to present this cute award to all of my friends and to all those who love to cook. But now I am crowning a very few of my friends.

Anu of Anu's Kitchen
Ann , my friend.
Gita of Gita's kitchen.
Malar of Kitchen Tantra.
Sanghi of Sanghis food delight.
Sumathy of Sumi's kitchen.
Vino of Akal's saapadu
Vineela of Vineela Siva
Usha of Ushanandhini's recipes.

Please accept this well deserved award my friends! You can pass this to as many as you wish.

Re-post:

I am reposting the following recipes for Sanghi's FIL-Fruits event. Happy hosting and Best wishes dear.


Mixed fruit jam.

Apple rasam

Pineapple rasam

Vaazhai Pazha paniyaram

Tomato sweet

Christmas plum cake

Panchamirtham

Apple pie

Cranberry sauce


Christmas is around the corner and it is the advent season too . Advent means a time of preparation, just like the Mother Mary and St.Joseph got prepared for the arrival of Jesus. It is the time of expectation, anxiety and cleanliness.
Let's look around for the needy people in our neighborhood and help them .

Thanks and Happy blogging friends!
Cheers,
Viki.

Mixed fruit jam (natural)

Some days back I had some fruits left behind while making a salad. Hated to leave all those cuties loose their color and simply chill in the refrigerator. How about a JAM...just like my homeland's kissan mixed fruit jam. I am sure no other jam in the world can charm me like this old fashioned Indian kissan jam. I am obsessed with that jam, but still wanted to do it.

The ingredient to get a perfect glossy jam is the pectin (available in stores in powder form). The problem was , I couldn't get the preservatives and gel bases at that late hour. Some thing sparked me....why shouldn't I make my own pectin? Then I searched for the natural pectin sources and to my surprise it can be an apple or any citus fruit. I just crushed an apple along with 1/2 a can of pineapple and got my base.

So here is a jam without any artificial preservative or store bought pectin. This one will resemble that kissan mixed fruit jam, but still I love that store bought one also very much:) Anyways I got 2 bottles of jam and a lot of satisfaction too. Hope you all like it.





Ingredients:
(Any combination of fruit 3 cups)
Raspberry - 1/2 cup
pomegranate - 1/2 cup
pear - 1 cup
seedless grapes - 10
apple - 1 (1 cup) ......(MUST)
(The natural pectin in the apple is used as a base to make the jam)
pineapple - 1/2 can (1 cup)
water - 1/2 cup
sugar - 3/4 cup

Method:
Bring water to boil along with raspberry , pomegranate or any small fruit of your choice. Mash gently with a ladle.
Coarsely grind the fruit chunks like apple , pear and pineapple together.
Mix all the fruits , sugar and cook till the jam gets a thick consistency.

It will thicken perfectly in about 20 minutes. So keep stirring occasionally in low flame.

Mixed fruit jam is ready.

Store in dry container and keep refrigerated.

Serving suggestions:
Wash the glass bottle (or any container) with hot water and dry completely before filling. I dried it overnight:)
Let the jam cool completely and stock them up.
Great to go with breads or yogurt, cake or ice cream topping.

Tomato rice (home style)

It is the habit of Tamil people to make different colors of variety rice like elumichai / lime rice (yellow), puliyotharai / tamarind rice(brown), thakkali / tomato rice (red), kothamalli / cilantro rice (green), thengai saatham / coconut rice, curd rice (white) , milagu saatham/ pepper rice , ellotharai/ sesame rice (black) etc during their family get-together.
They are generally called kalantha saatham (mixed variety rice) or chithrannam in Tamil.

Tomato rice is the most favorite for many of us. Hope all are familiar with a tomato rice with fennel , cinnamon and a biryani like flavor in tomato rice. But this is a very humble variety with unbeatable tangy taste that would tempt us to eat more.
Moreover I have devoured this kind of tomato rice along with paruppu thogayal and masal vadai in vegetarian restaurants of Tirunelveli. But couldn't find it in Madras. So I guess it as a very native / homely method to make this simple thakkali saatham.

I am describing my mom's way here, as she (as well as me) had appreciated this version over the biryani flavored one always. In both way tomato blends well with rice and that's what we like...right:)



Ingredients:
Uncooked rice - 1 1/4 cup (for 2 people)
Ripen Tomato (juicy variety) - 3
green chilly - 5
Shallot onion - 6
Turmeric powder - a pinch
red chilly powder - 1/4 tsp
salt - 1 tsp
Sesame oil - 3 tsp
mustard - 1/2 tsp
channa dhal - 1 tbsp
curry leaf - 1 sprig
cilantro (chopped) - 1 tbsp

Method:
Bring to boil 5 cups of water along with 1/4 tsp salt.
Wash and add the rice.
Cook till it becomes soft (but individual grains). Using a colander strain and discard all the water. Keep the cooked rice aside.

Heat oil in a wok.
Splutter the mustard seed, add channa dhal, curry leaf, cilantro and fry well.
Now add the chopped shallot and fry till it becomes soft.
Then add the finely chopped tomato , green chilly, turmeric powder, chilly powder, salt and cook covered till the tomato gets mushy.

Now open the lid and cook the tomato gravy till it becomes a thick gravy. Put off fire.

Then add the cooked rice and mix carefully without breaking the grains.

Tomato rice is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve along with paruppu thogayal, masal vadai , potato chips or any poriyal.

Chicken Kickers

Being a big fan of Domino's chicken kickers , I never believed if I could make a similar one. Then I formulated my very own version to match their taste and it was a pleasant success.
Anyways lazy me love to order that too:)

This is my favorite part of cooking. Just mix all the ingredients to marinate the chicken , put it in the oven and JUST RELAX......



Ingredients:

To marinate:
Boneless skinless chicken breast - 1 lb
Salt - to taste (1.5 tsp)
Egg - 1
Italian seasoning - 1 tsp
Garlic paste(fine) - 1 tbsp
vinegar - 3 tbsp
chilly powder - 1 tbsp
pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
All purpose flour - 1 tbsp
Olive oil / butter - 1 tbsp

Others:
Bread Crumbs - 1 cup
(I powdered 3 slices of toasted dry bread to make the crumbs)
Oil / butter - 1 tsp
(to coat the baking foil)

Method:

Clean and wash the chicken breast. Pat dry. Cut it into 1.5 inch cubes.
In a mixing bowl add salt , vinegar , Seasoning powder, pepper powder and chilly powder . Soak the chicken pieces and marinate for 4 - 6 hrs.

In another bowl mix olive oil , egg and all purpose flour.

Powder the bread pieces to get the crumbs. Place it on a wide plate.

Preheat the oven to 400 deg F.

Line a baking tray with an aluminum foil. Coat the aluminum foil with olive oil / butter .

Dip the chicken in egg , flour mixture and roll it over the bread crumbs and place on the foil. Just like that place all the pieces on the tray.

Bake for 20 minutes one side, flip and cook next 15-20 minutes on the other side (middle rack).

Hot Chicken kickers is ready!

Serving suggestion:
Enjoy it with pizza or as a meal itself with tomato sauce and a drink of your choice especially a coke:)

Vegetable Biryani (Tawa method)

Nearly an year before , I posted a recipe for layered vegetable biryani. After that many times I have made this simple version of vegetable biryani and publishing it now.
Here I should say, my mom had an extraordinary passion for cooking and our lunch boxes would tell it by the variety and flavor. Vegetable biryani would accompany us to school as a surprise lunch to triumph her hug whenever she wanted to convey a congrats or best wishes or a smile. Sweet memories again:)

Mom's method employs a pressure cooker. But I have never achieved a perfect one through pressure cooker...sometimes they get mushy too. So I prefer a tawa method, that is placing the briyani over a hot girdle and slow cooking it.



Vegetables:
Cauli flower - 1/4 flower (chopped 1 cup) , green beans - 10 , carrot -1 , green peas - 1/2 cup .

Ingredients:
Basmathi rice / Jeeraga samba raw rice - 3 cups
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red onion - 2 (medium size)
green chillis - 5 (uncut).
Lemon - 1
ghee - 2 tbsp (to add at the end)

To temper:
Fennel - 1 tsp
bay leaves - 2
star aniseed - 1,
cinnamom stick - 2 inch
cardamom - 2
cloves - 4
ghee - 1 tbsp
Any cooking oil - 3 tbsp
cashew nuts -10
raisins- 10.
salt - to taste

Masala 1:
Tomato - 4

Masala 2:
cilantro- 10 stems
mint leaf -1 handful.
green chilly - 10
black pepper - 1 tbsp
cumin - 1/2 tsp

Masala 3:
Ginger - 2 inch
Garlic - 5 cloves

Preparation:
wash and clean the vegetables. peel the skin of carrot and cut into long thin slices.
Cut the green beans in to long pieces.
Pluck 5 -6 florets from the cauliflower.
Defreeze the green peas.

Wash the rice and soak it for 1/2 an hour.

Grind all the pastes separately.

Chop onion and keep aside.

Method:
Heat 2 tbsp oil + 1 tbsp ghee in a  broad vessel.
Add fennel ,star aniseed , cinnamon stick,cardamom ,cloves, bay leaf , cashew, raisin.

Then goes the chopped onion .

Fry it till golden brown and add the ginger garlic paste and stir well till the raw smell goes.

Now add the tomato paste and cook till the oil oozes out of it. Add all the powders given.

Then add the cilantro , mint paste and cook till the oil start oozing out. Now put the vegetables and add salt. Just stir well. Don't cook them now.

Now add the soaked rice and uncut green chillies. Squeeze some lime juice over.

Pour water to immerse the rice and let the water stand 1 inch above rice.

Mix well now and check for salt in this stage.Let it come to a boil.

Close with a tight lid and place this vessel over a hot dosa tawa (girdle / flat pan) . Reduce the flame to minimum.

After 20 minutes the biryani will be ready!

Serving suggestions:
Garnish with 2 tbsp ghee , chopped cilantro , mint leaves.
Serve vegetable biryani hot with onion raitha .
Serves 6 people.

Note:
Instead of tawa , we can pressure cook it for 1 whistle also. But if we want the grains to be non sticky then follow the tawa method.

Click here to see my Layered vegetable biryani.

Mochai payaru curry

Every simple dish in the Indian houses would have a story behind it, just like the dad bringing pakoda for rasam rice on a rainy night or brother's surprise parotta or loving aunt's instant vadai for curd rice etc.

I have seen this delicious mochai payaru curry in the households of Kovilpatti , Sivakasi (small towns of TamilNadu, India) etc, where each and every member of family would be employed in a cottage Industry. In that area, we can see small food stalls selling this curry wrapped in banana leaf in the late evening, which can reduce a bit of the females' burden after a long day. May be they can make a quick meal with some rice and rasam to have with this super spicy curry.

Here is the recipe for that spicy mochai kai curry.

Other names: Mochai payaru (Tamil), Val dal (Hindi),Hyacinth bean or field bean (English)



Ingredients:
Dry Mochai payaru - 1 cup (or) Fresh ones - 1/2 kg
Shallot onion - 4
Shredded coconut - 2 tbsp
cumin seeds - 1 tsp
oil - 1 tsp
fennel seeds (sombu)- 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
coriander powder - 2 tsp
red chilli powder - 1 tsp
turmeric powder - a pinch
tomato - 1 (chopped)
salt - to taste

Preparation:
(If you are using the fresh beans then just start from the method.
otherwise go for pre soaking.)
Dry roast the mochai kottai to get dark spots on the outer layer and a nice aroma with some popping sound.
Then rinse it with water twice. Add water till it gets well immersed. Soak for an hour.
(We can soak it overnight also, if we don't want to roast it.)
Pressure cook for 3 whistles.
(we can cook it in stove top also, but it will take an hour).


Procedure:
Shell the val dhal , wash and clean the beans inside.
Bring to boil enough water and cook the beans to tender.

In a blender , grind the shallot, coconut and cumin seeds together to a coarse paste.

Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan. Add the fennel seeds and let it become red. Then goes the curry leaves.
Immediately add the cooked beans along with the remaining water.
Now add coriander powder, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt.
Slide in chopped tomatoes. Close the lid and cook for 5 minutes.

Then add the ground masala and keep stirring occasionally, till the koottu / curry becomes a thick gravy.

Mochai kottai koottu is ready.

Serving suggestions:
Serves 4 people .
Serve hot with chapathi, roti , curd rice, rasam rice or sambar rice.

Simple Dhal (Ketti paruppu)

This simple dhal is an excellent partner for rice or chapathi. The very less spice content in this dhal makes it a child friendly dish if paired with ghee and rice.
It is the habit of the Indians to serve this dhal as the starter curry in any full meals.

In my home we call it as ketti paruppu , which means the dhal in thicker consistency. I can remember my mom saving some dhal for me before making sambar, as it is my all time favorite to have with ghee and rice. Hope I have kindled many of your childhood memories:)

Simple dhal / ketti paruppu / lentil curry:



Ingredients:
Toor dhal (thuvaram paruppu) - 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
hing - a pinch
garlic - 2 pearls
Cumin - 1/2 tsp

To temper:
mustard seed - 1/2 tsp
dry red chilly - 3
curry leaf - 1 sprig
urad dhal - 1 tsp
Onion (chopped) - 2 tbsp
oil - 1 tsp

Method:
Wash and clean the dhal.
(Soak it for 1 hour to reduce cooking time, if done in stove top).
Pressure cook the dhal with 2 cups of water, turmeric, hing and garlic to 5 whistles.
(or after a whistle reduce flame and keep in low heat for 10 minutes).
Open the pressure cooker after the steam is gone.
Drain the excess clear water above dhal and reserve it to make rasam.
Add the cumin seeds and mash well using a laddle.

Heat oil in a wok.
Splutter the mustard seeds and add the urad dhal, curry leaf, onion, red chillies and fry till the onion turns red.
Pour the seasoning over the mashed dhal and add salt.
If desired , stir more to get a thicker form.

Ketti paruppu is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve with hot rice and a dollop of Indian ghee along with pappad.
Goes well with roti too.

Arachi vitta sambar

'Arachi vitta sambar' means a sambar made by adding fresh masala in liquid form prepared at home by a mortar.

This is the traditional sambar of India. No need to buy a sambar powder. So the taste won't vary by the brand of powder we purchase.
Mom used to have a hand mortar called 'ammi' to make the masala paste and for me those sambars have tasted heavenly. Here is my attempt to bring back that aroma:)

Homely sambar / arachi vitta sambar / sambar without sambar powder:



Ingredients:
Toor dhal - 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Tamarind - strawberry size
asafoetida - 2 pinches
Tomato - 1
carrot / radish /unripe mango/ beans / brinjal or any mixed vegetable- 1 cup

Roast and grind:
coriander seed - 2 tbsp
dry red chilly - 6
channa dhal - 1 tbsp
Toor dhal - 1 tsp
fenugreek - 1/4 tsp
Shredded coconut - 3 tbsp

To temper:
Mustard seed - 1 tsp
cumin - a few
shallot onion - 5 to 10
curry leaves - 1 sprig
oil / ghee - 1 tbsp

Method:
Soak the tamarind in 1 cup water for 20 minutes. Squeeze it and get the extract.

Wash and clean the Toor dal .Pressure cook it along with turmeric powder ,asafoetida and a cup of water for a whistle , reduce flame and cook for 10 minutes.
(If you do not have pressure cooker then boil 2 cups of water and add the dal, water,turmeric powder ,asafoetida and oil.Close it and cook till the dhal becomes soft.)
Then mash it coarsely. Keep aside.

Cook the vegetables in tamarind extract with salt.

Heat a tsp of oil and fry all the items given (except coconut) to roast and grind to a fine paste.
Add this paste to the cooked vegetables and let it boil.
Immediately add the mashed dhal and check for salt.

Heat oil / ghee in a wok and let the mustard splutter. Then add the shallot (skinned but whole), curry leaf ,cumin . Saute till the onion becomes golden brown.

Pour it over the kulambu and let it come to a boil.

Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot.

Serving suggestions:
Serve with rice or idly /dosa.

Brussel Sprout fry.

The Brussels sprout is a Cultivar group of wild cabbage cultivated for its small (typically 2.5–4 cm or 1–1.5 in diameter) leafy green buds, which resemble miniature cabbages. They contain good amounts of vitamin A, vitamin C, folic acid and dietary fibre. Moreover, they are believed to protect against colon cancer, due to their containing sinigrin.
(Source : Wikipedia)

The common method is to just saute it in olive oil, throw some salt and pepper to get a side dish for any soup or bread.
But I tried my own version to make a poriyal or fry out of it. Hope you all like it.




Brussel sprout fry:




Ingredients:
Brussel sprout (choose small ones) - 1/2 lb
Red onion - 1/2
fennel seed (sombu)- 1 tsp
oil - 1 tbsp
red chilly powder - 1 tsp
salt - to taste

Direction:
Wash and clean the brussel sprout in cold water.
Quarter them.

Chop the onion finely.

Heat oil in a wok. Add fennel seeds. When the fennel turns red, add the onion and saute for a minute.
Then add the chopped brussel sprout and stir well.

Sprinkle some water. Add a little salt and cook covered till the vegetable is done.(5 minutes is enough). Over cooking may release unfavorable smell for some.

Then add the red chilly powder and stir till all the moisture is gone.

Brussel sprout fry is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve as side dish with roti , chapathi , sambar rice or curd rice.
The above said quantity can be served for 2 people.

Rava Upma

I don't think many of us need a recipe to make uppuma which is the very basic tiffin item of Indians. But for me making it without lumps was a great challenge till I learned the technique from Packiam aunty in my dad's house. Ingredients: Rava (semolina) - 1 1/2 cup water - 2 1/4 cup {water = (number of cups of ravai x 2) - (3/4 cup)} salt - 1/4 tsp (1/8 tsp per cup of rava) onion - 1 (small) green chilly - 2 ginger - 1 inch curry leaf - 1 sprig channa dhal - 1 tbsp mustard - 1/2 tsp Shredded coconut - 2 tbsp (optional) sesame oil - 2 to 3 tsp. Method: Heat a wok. Dry roast the rava till it smells good / starts to become coarse like sand. Transfer it to a plate . Chop the onion, curry leaf, ginger, green chilly finely. Heat 2 tbsp oil in the same wok. Add mustard seed. let it splutter. Then add the channa dhal and fry all the chopped ingredients along with it. As the onion starts to become transparent, add the water + Salt and let it come to a boil. Then reduce flame and sprinkle the rava in equal spacing , just like shower. Don't stir. (Stirring will result in lumps) Immediately cover with a lid. Reduce flame to minimum. After 3 minutes in low flame , open the lid and start to stir using a spatula. we can see the uppuma get cooked well and starts leaving the edges. Put off fire. Add shredded coconut , if desired. Now we get a very dry uppuma without any lumps. Serving suggestions: Serve as breakfast or dinner along with coconut chutney or sugar. The above said quantity served two adults.

Sukku malli coffee

Sukku - dry ginger ; malli - dry coriander seed

With the onset of monsoon rain ,the chennai residents can see the local vendors selling this coffee in the streets after 9 Pm.

In my hometown we drink it all through the day with or without caffeine and never say no to it.Any one who has gulped it will always remember the sharp taste and the health benefits. We make it with 'panai vellam' / karuppatti / palm jaggery , which makes the coffee more flavorful. Anyway we can use white sugar too.



Sukku coffee powder:
coriander seed - 100 gm
dry ginger - 100 gm
(I use powdered dry ginger)
black pepper - 20

Dry roast and grind them together. This is called sukku coffee powder.

For daytime or evening:
Heat 2 cups of water along with 2 tsp sukku coffee powder, 1 tsp coffee powder, sugar (3 tsp). Switch off after it starts boiling. Leave till it settles.
Filter the clear liquid leaving the sediments.

If desired add 2 tbsp milk per cup.

For bedtime:
Heat 2 cups of water along with 2 tsp sukku coffee powder, sugar (3 tsp). Switch off after it starts boiling. Leave till it settles.
Filter the clear liquid leaving the sediments.

If desired add 2 tbsp milk per cup.

Makes 2 cups of coffee. Serve as hot beverage.
It is believed to relieve the body aches and stomach troubles.

Kadalai kulambu

Kadalai kulambu generally means a curry made with channa. This is also a typical sounth Indian curry made with tamarind and hot spices.
The interesting fact is people call this lentil as 'Vegetarians' chicken' because of the high protein content.

Other names: chickpea, Cicer arietinum, garbanzo bean, Indian pea, ceci bean, bengal gram, Kabuli chana, konda kadalai, kadale kaalu, sanaga pappu, shimbra, Kadala



Ingredients:
Black channa - 1 cup.
(We can use white channa also, but the black / red one has more flavor and fiber.)
Tamarind- 1 gooseberry size
chilli powder - 1tsp
coriander powder - 2 tsp
turmeric powder - 1/8 tsp
salt - to taste
feugreek (methi seed)-1/4 tsp
mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
curry leaves - 1 sprig
sesame oil - 1 tbsp

To grind:
cumin seeds - 1 tsp
shredded coconut - 2 tbsp
onion (chopped)- 1 cup


Method:
Soak the channa overnight and pressure cook to get a whistle.
After the whistle , simmer the stove and switch off the stove after 10 minutes.
(20 minutes for white channa).

Extract the juice from tamarind. Keep aside.
Add the chilli powder, coriander powder, salt and turmeric powder to the tamarind extract.

In a pan add the oil , put mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds.
After the mustard gets cracked , add curry leaves.

Then add the tamarind extract mixture.
Let it boil for 10 minutes.
Now add the cooked channa along with the remaining water , if any.

Grind the coconut , cumin seeds and onion into a fine paste.
Put this paste into the boiling tamarind extract.
Check for salt and put off fire immediately after the raw smell vanishes.

Serving suggestions:
Serves for 4 to 5 people.
Serve with cooked rice, appalam and aviyal.

Pudalangai Varuval

Pudalangai is the Tamil translation for Long gourd / snake gourd. Varuval means fry.

Snake gourd is an exotic Asian vegetable.
Other Names are Snake Gourd, potlakaaya (in Telugu), pathola (in Sinhalese), pudalankaai (in Tamil), dhunduli(in Assamese), paduvalakaayi (in Kannada) and padavalanga (in Malayalam).

Normally frying requires lot of oil, but not for this varuval. So here is a fry that goes fine with any dhal / sambar rice.

Fresh tender pudalangai:



Fried pudalangai:



Ingredients:
Tender pudalangai - 1/2 kg
Red onion - 1
fennel seed (sombu)- 1 tsp
oil - 1 tbsp
red chilly powder - 1 tsp
garam masal powder - 1/2 tsp (optional)
salt - to taste

Direction:
Gently rub the pudalangai with a knife and remove the very fine outer skin.
Wash and clean it.
Now halve it and remove all the seeds and stuffs inside.
Chop it into small pieces.

Chop the onion finely.

Heat oil in a wok. Add fennel seeds. When the fennel turns red, add the onion and saute for a minute.
Then add the chopped pudalangai and stir well.

Sprinkle some water. Add a little salt and cook covered till the vegetable is done.

Then add the red chilly powder, garam masal powder and stir till all the moisture is gone.

Pudalangai varuval is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve as side dish with roti , chapathi , sambar rice or curd rice.
The above said quantity can be served for 4 people.

Onion Rava Dosa.

There are so many methods to make a rava dosa. Hope most of us depend on the store bought ready made mix, as it is a quick to fix menu.
Here I am explaining two more ways to do it from scratch.

I prefer sour batter here. Sour batter will produce very thin crepes. But if you are ok with the less sour taste , then use water instead of the sour buttermilk / sour dosa batter. But the fermented batter will give us the color and crispiness of that of the restaurant made onion rava dosa.




Mixture 1:
Sooji / rava - 1 cup
Left over dosa batter (sour) - 1 cup
water - to get thin consistency

(OR)

Mixture 2:
Sooji / rava - 1 1/2 cup
All purpose flour - 1/4 cup
Buttermilk (Sour) - 1 cup
water - to get thin consistency

Ingredients:
Sesame Oil - 1 tsp + 3 tbsp
Cumin seed - 1/2 tsp
mustard seed - 1/4 tsp
channa dhal - 1 tbsp
onion (chopped finely) - 4 tbsp
green chilly (chopped finely) - 1 tsp
curry leaf - 1 sprig
cilantro / coriander leaf - a handful
salt - to taste

Directions:

Mix the rava with dosa batter (or) sour buttermilk + AP flour and add enough salt.
Let it set for 2-3 hours. We can use it immediately also.

After that soaking time, heat 1 tsp oil in a wok. Splutter the mustard seeds, add channa dhal, chopped onion and fry till the onion gets cooked (not red).
Pour the mixture over the prepared batter.
Add cumin seed, chopped cilantro, curry leaf, green chilly and salt.
Mix thoroughly.

The batter should be thinner than that of the dosa batter, just like a thick buttermilk in consistency.

Heat a Dosa pan to maximum. Coat a layer of sesame oil all over the pan using a cloth / spoon.

If we have left the batter for soaking / fermentation then add a handful of sooji / rava to get the restaurant texture, otherwise use as it is.
Mix the batter well.
Now using one laddle, pour the dosa batter starting from outermost circumference and fill the circle with that laddle of batter alone. Just smudge the uncovered portions or leave as it is.

Make a very thin crepe.

Drizzle some oil over the dosa. Flip once it get red on the bottom.

Take out as soon as the other side is also cooked .

Onion rava dosa is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve hot with coconut chutney or sugar.
Serve before it gets cold, as it may loose the crispiness after some time.
Makes 8-10 large onion rava dosa.

Goat liver masala.

In my hometown serving non vegetarian curries along with Idly for breakfast (especially on holidays) is a very common culture. The most preferred combination are Idly with meen kuzhambu (Fish curry), Soft dosa with kothu curry (minced goat curry), Idiyappam with paya (goat leg stew), Aappam with Duck curry:) etc. One among them is the goat liver masala / Eeral masala , which won't require pressure cooking or longer cooking methods. So it is preferred by those who can spare lesser cooking time.

Health benefits:
Any liver especially the Goat's is always considered a good source of Vitamin A and a good remedy for nightblindness. Those who have cholesterol complaints should reduce the liver consumption. Click to see the nutrient fact.

Goat liver curry / Aattu eeral masala:



Ingredients:
Goat liver - 1/2 lb (1/4 kg)
sesame oil - 2 tbsp
Red onion / shallot (chopped) - 1 cup
fennel seeds (sombu)- 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
coriander powder - 2 tsp
red chilli powder - 1 tsp
turmeric powder - a pinch
tomato - 1 (chopped)
salt - to taste
ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp

To grind:
Shallot onion - 6
(or) Small size Red onion - 1/2
Black pepper - 1 tbsp
Shredded coconut - 1/2 cup
cumin seeds - 1 tsp

How to choose a good liver?
Buy dark brown colored liver. Don't buy the ones with white spot or holes in the outer layer. While chopping look carefully for affected portion inside and remove.

Procedure:
Wash and clean the liver.
Cut it into 1 inch size cubes.

Grind the shallot or red onion , coconut , pepper and cumin seeds together to a coarse paste.
Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan. Add the fennel seeds and let it become red. Then goes the curry leaves. Put the chopped onion and fry till it becomes transparent.
Now goes the ginger garlic paste followed by chopped tomato.
Fry till the oil oozes.

Add the cubed liver and cook covered with a cup of water.

After 10 minutes add the ground masala, coriander powder, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt.

Cover and cook till the raw smell vanishes. keep stirring occasionally, till the koottu / curry becomes a gravy.

Eeral (liver) curry is ready.

Serving suggestions:
Serve hot with Idly , dosa or hot rice.

Thakkali kulambu

Thakkali kulambu is a very common curry prepared in Tirunelveli / Kovilpatti of South India. Garam masala or cinnamon are not added like a kuruma in this recipe. So it is liked by people who like lesser spices.

I came to know of this recipe from my colleagues, who rush home to prepare dinner for the family after a long tiring day.

It is a very simple recipe and can be prepared in 20 minutes.



Ingredients:
Tomato - 2 (100 gms)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
Sambar powder - 1/2 tsp (optional)
Shredded coconut - 1/2 cup
cumin seed - 1/2 tsp
Shallot onion - 4
mustard seed - 1/2 tsp
oil - 1 tsp
curry leaf - 1 sprig
salt - to taste

Directions:

Pressure cook tomatoes with turmeric powder, sambar powder, red chilly powder along with 1 cup of water to one whistle.

Remove the skin and mash the tomato with hand. The coarse texture of tomato adds a grade to the kulambu.

Grind coconut, onion and cumin to a fine paste.

Mix the coconut paste with tomato mixture in a vessel.
Bring it to a boil. Cook for 3 minutes with boiling.

Add salt to taste.

Heat oil in a wok. Splutter the mustard and fry the curry leaves.
Pour over the boiling curry.

Tomato kulambu is ready.

Serving suggestions:
Serves two.
It is mostly served as curry over hot rice.
Serve with any vegetable poriyal or omelet.
Good for people who should avoid tamarind.
The left over can be safely refrigerated and used for the next day , as it will not get spoiled.

Vaazhai Pazha paniyaram

Vaazhai pazham means ripe banana.

Paniyaram is a traditional snack of South India. Paniyaaram can be prepared using a paniyarakkal (similar to our cup cake pan). People make spicy as well as sweet paniyarams.

But this banana paniyaram can be prepared without a paniyaram pan.

This is a sweet made during Navarathiri in my home town. It is also called wheat paniyaram. On Sundays in Navarathiri function, people prepare sweets using wheat, as Wheat is the favorite food of Sun God and Sunday is His day.

we can use rice flour also instead of wheat flour, but won't get a softer one like this wheat version. Even now we use coconut oil in regular cooking and it will definitely enhance the taste. Slowly people are accepting the benefits of coconut:)



Ingredients:
Wheat flour / all purpose flour - 1 1/2 cup
ripe banana - 1 (big)
cardamom powder - a pinch
coconut oil / any oil - to deep fry
Sugar - 1/2 cup
water - 1/4 cup
baking powder - 1/4 tsp (optional - but makes the sweet fluffy)

Directions:
Measure and put the flour, sugar, cardamom powder in a mixing bowl.
Mash the banana gently with hands to a coarse texture and and mix it with the flour.
Dissolve baking soda in water. Now slowly add water to get a thick batter.
The batter should be thinner than chapathi dough but thicker than dosa batter.

Heat coconut oil in a wok to maximum heat.Don't allow the oil to fume.

Now using a bigger spoon (small kuli karandi), slowly pour the batter as small balls in to the hot oil.

Reduce the flame and cook the paniyaram in medium heat, so that the center portion will also get cooked.

Flip them once and cook both sides.

Take out and drain excess oil using a paper towel.

Vaazhai pazha paniyaram is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Makes a great tea time snack.
The above said quantity is enough to make 15 paniyaram (depending upon the size).

Note:
If not for pooja, some people add an egg while preparing the batter. But I suggest you to do as it is even without baking soda.

Puli Rasam

Puli (tamarind) rasam is the simplest of all the rasams. No need to go for a tomato or rasam powder or dhal to do this puli rasam. So we can make it in just 10 minutes.

Hope many knows the way to serve / take rasam in a full course Indian meal. It is considered to be a healthy kind of soup that heals our digestive tract. I have seen many preferring only this rasam and rice along with thovaiyal or appalam for dinner. For me, it means a heavenly food that too on a rainy season :)


Simple rasam / Homely rasam / Puli rasam



Ingredients:
Tamarind - small lemon size
Turmeric powder - a pinch
water - 3 cups
sesame oil - 2 tsp
red chilly - 2 (torn into pieces)
curry leaf - 1 sprig
mustard - 1/2 tsp
fenugreek (venthayam) - 1/4 tsp
asafoetida (hing) - a pinch
garlic - 3 pearls
cumin - 3/4 tsp
whole black pepper - 1 tsp
salt - to taste

Directions:
Grind the garlic, pepper and cumin coarsely.

Extract juice from tamarind by soaking it in hot water. Like wise extract all the juice by rinsing it twice in cold water. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a wok.
Add the fenugreek and mustard . After the mustard gets splutter , put the curry leaves , asafoetida and red chillies.
Immediately add the ground mixture before the chillies get burnt.
Stir for 30 seconds.

Now pour the tamarind extract along with Turmeric powder and let it boil till the raw smell vanishes.
Then switch off the flame and add salt to taste (3/4 tsp).

Don't add the salt before switching off the flame as it will change the fresh smell of the rasam.

Serving suggestions:
Makes 300 ml of clear rasam.
Let the rasam settle down first and just serve the top layer of rasam.
Serve over hot rice along with appalam or thogaiyal .
If preferred serve as a soup , but after meals.

Aattukkaal paaya

'Aattukkal paaya' means a soupy thin curry made with goat legs. 

Most of the South Indian restaurants serve this aattukal paya along with Idiyappam (rice noodles) for the breakfast or dinner. If you are not familiar with this less spicy dish , then don't hesitate to order it in your next visit to an Indian restaurant, especially the 'chettinad' (a cuisine of South India) ones.
Just empty a bowl of this aattukal paya over a plate of hot Idiyappam / soft dosa / Idly and ENJOY :)

Most of the time I prepare the aattukal soup and serve it first. Then I use the excess soup along with pieces to make this kulambu. But here is the complete recipe.

Aattukkaal paaya / Goat leg kuruma:

Goat leg curry is ready!

Ingredients:

Goat leg - 2
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Masala 1:

ginger- 2 inch
garlic-5 pearls

To dry roast:

cloves - 5
cardamom- 4
cinnamon- 1 inch
fennel seeds - 1 tbsp
cumin seeds - 1 tsp
cashews - 5
nutmeg - a tiny shaving
mace - small bit
poppy seeds- 1 tbsp
pepper - 1 tsp

Grind:

Above roasted items -
shredded coconut - 1 tbsp
red chilly powder - 1 tsp
coriander powder - 3 tsp

In a pan dry roast poppy seeds alone and keep aside.
Then dry roast all the above except coconut and grind everything together along with coconut.

other ingredients:

Bay leaves -2
cinnamon - 2 inch
Red onion - 2
tomato -2 (100 gms)
curry leaves- 1 sprig
cilantro- 1 handful
mint leaves - 1 handful
cooking oil- 3 tsp
Green chilli- 6
potato - 3 (1/2 lb)

Method:

First slightly blacken the skin in legs in flame to burn all the left over hair.
Break it in to two pieces to reduce the length.
Then rub and wash it thoroughly by applying turmeric powder.

Place the legs in a pressure cooker vessel along with water (6 cups) to immerse the legs.

In a kadai , heat 2 tsp cooking oil.Add 1/2 tsp fennel seeds and after it turns red add brinji leaves,curry leaves, chopped onion and saute till onion turns red.
Now put green chillies, cilantro and mint leaves one by one .
Add the remaining ginger garlic paste and saute till raw smell vanishes.
Pour it into the pressure cooker and cook it to get one whistle.
Then reduce the flame and cook in low heat for 25 - 30 minutes till the leg gets completely cooked. Open the lid after the pressure is gone.

In the same time finely chop the tomato. Peel and cut the potatoes in to big chunks. Add the chopped tomto , potato , Masala 2 , salt along with 3 cups of water to the cooked legs .

Cook the whole kulambu to another whistle . Reduce flame and let it remain in low heat for another 10 minutes . Switch off flame.

Aattukal paaya is ready !

Serving suggestions:

The final consistency should be very thin like a soup.
Serve hot over Idiyappam / sponge soft dosa / Idly /rice / aappam.

Tips:

Adding potato is optional but I prefer to have something more in this meatless bony curry:)

Deepavali Legiyam

Wish you all a very happy and prosperous Deepavali!

'Lehiyam / Legiyam' means medicine in a sweet form.
It is a tradition in India to make this medicine to help our digestive system during those festive occasions. Even though it is called a medicine, most of us crave for this medicine just like halwa.
My mom used to make it in a small batch and keep in a tiffin box the day before Diwali and I still remember those days when we longed to taste that sweet ginger after dinner.
I don't have a picture of it now, but wish to post it before Diwali so that many of my friends may go shopping for the ingredients now itself:)

Ingredients:
Black pepper - 2 tbsp
Dry ginger (2 inch pieces) - 2
omam / ajwain - 2 tbsp
thippili - 4 pieces
cumin seed - 2 tbsp
coriander seed - 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
poppy seed - 1 tbsp
cloves - 2
cardamom - 2
Jaggery - 200 gms (1 cup powdered)
ghee - 1 tbsp
sesame oil - 4 tbsp

Directions:
Dry roast the poppy seed till we get a cracking sound. Keep it aside.
Again dry roast the pepper, thippili, coriander seed, cumin, omam, cardamom, cloves and let them cool. (Roasting makes the powder more fine).
Soak the dry ginger for 2 hours.
Grind the roasted items along with soaked dry ginger to a fine paste.

Bring one cup water to boil and put the jaggery. Let it dissolve.
Then filter it to remove the sediments.

Now take a thick bottom wok and pour the jaggery water along with grind mixture.
Start heating and let it evaporate.

After it becomes half the quantity add the ghee+sesame oil and stir continuosly till we get a halwa consistency.
Switch off flame when the lehiyam starts coming along with the spatula without sticking to the bottom.

Deepavali legiyam is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve as a digestion medicine after heavy meals.
Take one - two tbsp per day after dinner / heavy meals.
The above said quantity can be served for 4 people.

Goat leg soup (clear)

Aattukkaal (goat leg) soup can be made in many styles. People make it with tomato or ginger or with lot of spices.
Here I am presenting my mom's clear soup version which will not have much spices , so it can be safely fed for kids also. It is very good for people recovering from cold and tiring journey. It is believed to reduce body aches.



Ingredients:
Goat leg - 2
Black pepper - 1 tbsp
cumin seed - 1 tsp
Bay leaf - 3
Shallot onion - 10
garlic - 1 (whole)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp + 1 tbsp
salt - to taste

Directions:
First slightly blacken the skin in legs in flame to burn all the left over hair.
Break it in to two pieces to reduce the length.
Then rub and wash it thoroughly by applying turmeric powder.

Place the legs in a pressure cooker vessel along with water (6 cups) to immerse the legs.

Add the bay leaf, turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp, sliced shallot and garlic .

Pressure cook it to get one whistle.
Then reduce the flame and cook in low heat for 25 minutes.
Switch off flame and wait to release the pressure.

Then take out the vessel.

Add salt to taste.

Mix well . Pour the required amount of soup and pieces in serving bowl.( It is a good idea to serve the clear soup alone and to save the pieces to make paaya - a watery curry.)

Add crushed pepper and cumin over the soup.
Serve hot as a clear soup before meals.

Milk peda (Microwave method)

While scrolling for some easy sweet, I got the idea from Ramya Vijayakumar of Passion for cooking.
Please click to see her cute Doodh peda and the original recipe.
Thanks Ramya. I have seen my mother struggling for hours to get this sweet from scratch. But your method is so handy and I made the entire batch without much effort.

I am noting down the recipe for my use.

Ingredients:
Milk Powder – 2 cup
(I used 3 cups of fat free milk powder)
Sweetened Condensed Milk – 1 can (14 oz)
Butter – 1/2 cup (8 tbsp)
Saffron – few strands
Water – 2 tsp
Almonds - 5

Method:
Melt the butter.
Mix the butter, condensed milk , milk powder thoroughly and microwave them for 2 - 3 minutes. Stir twice in between.
Dissolve the saffron in warm water and mix with the dough.Again microwave it for 2 more minutes. (Instead of saffron we can add different food colors also, by dividing the dough).
Let them cool. Now they will come to chapati dough consistency.
Make small balls and get the desired shape.
decorate with slivered almonds and silver varakh.

Milk peda is ready!

Note:
Makes 30 pieces (approximately).

Thanks:
Another important thing is , thanks to the efforts of all the bloggers and friends , the controversial blog that displayed my posts along with some of my friends' without our permission, is now shut down.
This could not have happened without all your efforts. I owe a million thanks to each and every one who are with us during this time.

An Update:

I prepared some milk pedas for hubby's office picnic / pot luck (Aug 6 2010). Here are some snaps to enjoy.
I pasted the ingredient list along with the box for reference..  Hubby was so happy to carry these cuties to share with his friends:)

Apple Rasam

I crafted this delicious rasam while searching a way to utilize some sour apple.



Ingredients:
Small apple - 2 (sour)
garlic - 4 pearls
whole black pepper - 1 tbsp
cumin seed - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - a pinch
ghee / oil - 2 tsp
Mustard seed - 1/4 tsp
Red chilly - 2
curry leaf - 1 sprig
cilantro - a handful
Lemon - 1/2 (extract juice)
salt - to taste

Method:
Chop one apple after coring.
Grind the pepper, cumin and garlic along with one apple.

Heat oil / ghee in a wok.
Let the mustard crackle. Then add a pinch of hing along with red chillies , curry leaf and cilantro.

Core and peel the other apple. Chop it into very small pieces. Put it along with the seasoning and stir well.

Next add the ground mixture , turmeric and saute well till the raw smell vanishes.

Pour 2 cups of water and let it come to a boil.

Put off fire.
Add lime juice and salt to taste.

Apple rasam is ready!

Serving suggestions:
Serve over hot rice along with appalam and dhal as a simple lunch or dinner.