Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Badusha

Happy Valentine's day to all my readers, friends and family!

Here is a sweet to celebrate the Valentine's day. I made it for my hubby as a home made gift, as it is one of his most favorite sweets. It came out very well just like the store bought. 

Recipe Source - An article called 'Kalyana Virundhu 64' by Mr.Subham Ganesan in Mangayar malar magazine, Feb 2012 edition.


Ingredients:
Maida / All purpose flour - 2 cup
curd - 1/4 cup 
butter - 100 gm (1/2 cup)
cardamom powder - 1 tsp
baking soda, baking powder - 1/2 tsp each.
sugar - 2 cup
water - 1 1/2 cup
oil - 250 ml (to deep fry)
rose essence - 2 drops

To garnish:
coconut flakes or almond or saffron.
lime - 1/8 of a fruit

Method:
Whisk the butter or dalda with baking soda and baking powder , curd till it blends well and slightly frothy.
(Don't use more baking soda / powder).
Sprinkle the maida  little by little and mix well. The maida will look like crumbs now.
(I add 2 drops of rose essence in the dough or sugar syrup to get more flavor).
Add cool water (few tbsp ) little by little to get a loose chapathi dough.
Knead it like a kiddish crumbs dough. It should not be like firm chapati dough. Let it rest for 20 mins.

Divide it into 18 small balls. Flatten it to a 1/4 inch thick, 3 inch diameter discs. Make a slight indent with the thumb.   This is the shape of badusha. Make all of them and keep aside.

Heat the oil and test fry one disc. Keep the heat in low and fry it till all the bubbles stop. It may take nearly 5 minutes. take it out and check if it is almost cooked till the center. If broken, it should look flaky. It may be very slightly soft in the center, but it will taste fine after soaking in syrup. This is the perfectly fried badusha.

Just like that prepare 5 badushas at a time and fry them as told.

In the same time prepare the sugar syrup. Heat the water and sugar together to get a one thread syrup. It should be sticky to touch and should not crystallize. Squeeze the lime over it to prevent crystallization. Switch off!

Put the fried hot badhusha in to the sugar syrup and let it soak for 10 minutes. Take out and place in a tray. After soaking and arranging all the badushas, pour the excess sugar syrup over it (optional).
Decorate with colored coconut flakes or almond slivers.

Badusha is ready!

Serving suggestion:
Makes nearly 750 gms of badusha (18 - 20 small pieces).
Serve as snack / dessert.
Great for home made gifts.

St.Valentine's day:
In USA, the St.Valentine's day is celebrated to express the love and affection towards our family, friends, pets, society and especially for the our spouse or sweet heart. Click to read more. St.Valentine was a Christian saint who was said to have helped the lovers getting married.Red color dress was the code word for those wishing to get married and St.Valentine took great steps to unite those lovers in holy matrimony. Red rose and red colored objects are popular during this season. The second Sunday of February is celebrated as World Marriage day in Churches. Celebrating the sacrament of marriage, importance of love, understanding between couples are emphasized by the church on these days.
I made this boonthi for hubby...homemade Valentines day gift. Chocolates from him:)

Hairclips and scented candles from hubby dear.




Gifts from Xav. Happy Valentines day always!

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Brinjal poriyal

Last summer I bought these cute brinjals from a local farmer's market .Brinjal / aubergine/ eggplant comes in different shapes and colors. The health benefits are many.
Here is a simple poriyal (stirfry) recipe with eggplant.

Summer 2011: Beautiful multicolor eggplants I got from a farmer's market.

Easy stir fry.

Ingredients:
Brinjal / eggplant - 2
oil - 1tbsp
turmeric powder - a pinch
salt - to taste
mustard - 1/2 tsp
black gram lentil (urad dhal) - 1 tsp
dry red chilly - 2
onion (chopped) - 2 tbsp
curry leaf - 1 sprig
shredded coconut - 2 tbsp
cumin - 1/2 tsp

Method:
Heat oil in a wok and put mustard, urad dhal.
Let the mustard start splutter.
Immediately add finely chopped onion, dry red chilly and curry leaf.
By the same time start finely chopping the brinjal and turmeric powder.
Stir well and wait till the onion gets soft.
Then put the chopped brinjal and sprinkle a handful of water.
Cook covered in medium heat till soft (5 minutes).
Then add the required salt, coconut and cumin.
Switch off.
Brinjal poriyal is ready!

Serving suggestion:
Makes enough for 2 people.
Serve as side dish with any rice or chapati.

Note:
If making this poriyal for more number of people, then cook the chopped brinjal with very little water, salt separately. Then do the above tempering.
Chopped brinjal should be cooked immediately to avoid oxidation (darkening) .
Oxidation can be delayed by immersing them in salt water.
Total time taken : 15 minutes.

Chennai Kara Kulambu (vendakkai kara kulambu)

Okra / vendakkai  in tamarind curry. Ingredients: Okra - 150 gm (20 numbers) Onion - 1 Tomato - 1 curry leaves - 1 sprig Garlic - 1 Tamarind...