Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Tuti fruity and an award

Hope many of you are familiar with those Christmas cakes studded with the tiny bits of fruit like sweet. They are globally called as Tuti fruity / Tooti frooti .Actually these tiny pieces of heaven are not real fruits. They are made from the raw papaya colored and soaked in sugar.
We can buy them easily in any grocery shop. But the fact is if we are doing it at home, we can be sure of using some natural / organic colors and sugar-free stuff. Isn't it:)
The entire process will not take more than 30 minutes and we will be all set for a baking spree:)

In the mean time, I am so much thrilled when my friend Chakh..le..re passed me this cute award. Thank you so much dear. I feel honored.
I am passing on this cute award to any one who leave a comment here:)
Enjoy!



Tooti fruity:




Step 1:
Raw papaya - 1 (chopped 3 cups)
Water - 2 cup

Peel and wash the raw papaya.
Chop it into small pieces.
Bring 2 cups of water to boil and add the papaya pieces.
Cover and cook till the papaya gets 80 percent cooked.
(Don't cook it completely).
Drain excess water and keep the pieces aside.

Step 2:
Bring 1/2 cup of fresh water to boil.
Add 1 cup of sugar along with some sugar free sugar according to taste.
(We can add original sugar completely also.)
Add 5 drops of any organic food color .
Put the cooked papaya pieces and cook till the sugar starts crystallizing.

Tooti frooti is ready !

Let them cool and store in zip lock covers in refrigerator.

Notes:
The general colors are yellow , red and green.
Tooti fruity are used in making cakes , breads and ice creams.
We can make individual colors in separate vessels also.
Beet root juice , carrot juice can make natural colors.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Onion samosa / Cinema theater Samsa

Samosa is an Indian deep fried spicy snack usually served with tea .
In India we can see numerous varieties of samosas. The famous ones are made by the Gujarathis. Those samosa are normally stuffed with potato , onion, vegetables and chaat masala.

But the Samosa I explain below is a different one. It has a simple onion masala as stuffing with a more crispier outer layer. May be this one can be called a typical South Indian Samosa. We pronounce it as Samsa:)
Onion samosa can be a very usual snack in the cinema theaters of my native place.
Ranganathan street in T.Nagar of Chennai is famous for its mini onion samosas.
Because of my love for the street foods of my native place, I prepared this onion samosa and it came out pretty good. Hope you all enjoy them.



Stuffing :

Ingredients:

Red onion - 2 (100 gms)
salt - 1/4 tsp or to taste
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Curry masala powder - 1/2 tsp
curry leaf - 1 brig
green chilly - 2
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Fennel seed (sombu) - 1/2 tsp
oil - 1 tbsp

Method:
Chop the onion finely in lengthwise.
Heat oil in a wok.
Add the fennel seed and let it get red.
Then add the onion and saute mildly till it becomes almost tender.
(Don't cook the onion completely).
Then add all the items given and mix well.
Samosa masala is ready. Keep it aside.

Samosa preparation:

Maida / All purpose flour - 1 1/2 cup
Rice flour (fine) - 1 tbsp
salt - 1/8 tsp
baking soda - 1/8 tsp
Oil - to deep fry (250 ml)
cumin seed - 1/2 tsp

Mix all the items given above except the oil. Remove any lumps.
Add water little by little and knead it into a chapathi dough like one.
Divide it into lemon size balls.

Take one ball. Spread it into a circle by applying some oil.
Put a tbsp of onion masala in the center.
Fold it in to a triangle.

Heat oil in a wok.
Deep fry the samosas one by one .

Drain oil in a paper towel.
If prepared in a correct way ( i.e., immediately after kneading the dough), the samosa will not absorb oil.

Onion samosa is ready!

Serving suggestion:

Serve with Tomato ketchup as tea time snack.
Makes 6 - 8 samosas .