Paneer Pulav

Necessity is the mother of invention is what I can say about this recipe!

Preparing a complete vegetarian dinner is a tricky one, as we have to sneak protein in some form in almost all the dishes to make them attractive and delicious. Generally I won't coin or try newer recipes for guests. But that particular week was so busy for hubby and he could not take me out for a grocery shopping while I had a party on Friday:) So when all my plans for a vegetable biryani with fresh vegetables were collapsed, I had to find an alternative:)

This paneer pulav is a medley of Shahi pulao and ghee rice. Along with this paneer pilaf I made a vegetable kuruma, fried arbi, Malaysian parotta, raitha, bakalava and gulab jamun as per plan and it was quite a successful one. Try this and enjoy!

Paneer pulav served with raitha and arbi fry.

Ingredients:
Basmati rice - 2 cup
(1/2 cup for 1 person)
paneer - 100 gm
Ghee - 2 tbsp
oil - 2 tbsp
bay leaf - 2
cinnamon - 2 inch
cashew, raisin - each 20
garam masala powder - 1 tbsp
lemon juice - 1/4 fruit
sugar - 1 tbsp
onion - 1 (big)
shahi jeera - 1/2 tsp
ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
mint, cilantro - handful
saffron - 5 threads

Method:
Cook the rice with lot of water, 2 tsp salt to a stiff finish. Drain water and keep the lid open.

Heat oil and ghee in a wok. Fry the paneer cubes to get a golden hue and take out.

Now add the bay leaves, cashew, raisin, cinnamon, shahi jeera.Add the thinly sliced onion and fry it a little. Then add the sugar and let it caramelize. Put the ginger garlic paste and stir well. Now add the chopped mint, cilantro, fried paneer, little salt, lemon juice and switch off.

Gently mix the cooked rice. Dissolve the saffron in few spoons of warm milk and sprinkle over the pulav. Serve hot.

Paneer pulav is ready!

Not:
We can microwave / directly heat the pulav before serving.
Vary the paneer quantity, so that every one gets at least 5 pieces.

Boondhi ladoo

Sweets and Deepavali are inseparable. Here is my ladoo for you all to enjoy.
My hearty prayers and well wishes to you all on this golden occasion. Happy Deepavali to you all!

Boondhi ladoo prepared.

Boondhi ladoo:

Boondhi ladoo or simply the laddu available in SouthIndia is different from motichoor ladoo. A traditional South Indian ladu resembles the famous Tirupathi ladoo and long lasting in room temperature too. while the mothichoor version is more soft, colorful and should be kept in fridge to ensure the freshness.

This is my mom's recipe and I have seen her struggling during Deepavalis with these to get that shape. Those were the days when moms would start making sweets and savories nearly a week before Diwali. Ladoo is her specialty. Her kitchen is large and well ventilated, so that many can join hands during festival days.
Ladoo making is a laborious task, if we don't plan well ahead. She and her maid would simplify the job by frying the boondhis on one evening and the ladoo making the next day. She used to have a long list of friends to send gifts during Diwali. Those large vessels sleeping now in the attic would be filled with home made murukku, muthiri kothu, athirasam, achi murukku, ladoo and another remarkable sweet which I will tell later . My ladoo saga started again, when we wanted to prepare for a thanks giving.

Ladoo has given me so many sweet memories and it is my most favorite sweet too. Those box of ladoo my chithappa used to buy for me from the Lakshmi vilas, my friend M's loving Tirupathi ladoo came through USPS, my elder uncle's care to take me to Tirupathi in my childhood, Kanagam mama buying ghee ladoo for me, my mom's diwali rushes, the carry home gifts of marriages, hubby's strong passion and possessiveness for these home made ladoos, etc etc:)

Method:

Boondi soaked in sugar syrup before making the ladu balls.

Enjoy:)

Ladoo I made for Valentine's day 2013

Ingredients:

Besan flour (kadalai mavu)- 5 cups (1 kg)
(1 -200 ml cup / 200 gms flour yields nearly 10 ladoo)
(water for boondhi- almost half the flour)
sugar - 5 cups (1 kg)
(water for syrup - almost 75% of sugar measure; 4 cups)
baking soda - 1/2 tsp
oil - 1/2 liter (500 ml)
cardamom - 15
pachai karpuram (edible camphor) - a pinch
cashew - 50 number
raisin - 50 number

Special equipment needed:

1.A perforated vessel to make boondhis.
(If we are doing for a small batch, say 1 cup flour, then make holes on a disposable plate using a skewer. I have done this home made boondhi making plate , before buying a traditional boondhi maker and it was very successful too.).
2. disposable hand gloves to bear the heat. Those days they didn't use gloves, I can't imagine that.

Preparing Boondhi:

Mix the baking soda, yellow food color - 2 drops (optional), with a cup of water and pour it into the four. Add water little by little, till it reaches a thick dosa batter consistency. The consistency should be so thick that, if we place a scoop of batter on the perforated plate, it should not run down (we press and make spheres through the holes).

In the same time heat few tbsps of ghee in a broad wok and fry the cashew nuts and raisins separately. Keep aside.

Now add the oil in the wok and start heating slowly, without reaching the fuming point. Gently pour a ladle of batter over the boondhi making plate and press it to the hot oil. Fry till its done. The final product should be crispy.(My version calls for crispy white boondhis. But if you want, you can make soft boondhis too) . Drain oil , let cool and store them.

Making ladoo:

Then in your convenient time, start preparing the syrup. You may need more time and energy to prepare these balls.

Mix the 5 cups of white-sugar with 4 cups of water and *heat it till we get a two thread consistency. (Test:A drop of sugar syrup put in a cup of cold water remains intact as a hard ball). Switch off and add fried boondhis, cardamom powder, fried cashews, raisins. Stir well.

Wear your gloves and start preparing the cute balls out of that hot boondhi mix. Rub some melted ghee to get a good shape. Hurry up, before they get solidify. Make sure that each and every ladoo gets a cahsew and a raisin:)
If you can't do it fast, it may crystallize and the ladoo won't hold together. If it solidifies , don't panic. Just heat the sweetened boondhi with a drop of water, make sure it melts and start making the remaining ladoo.

Boondhi ladu is ready!

Note:
* //If making small quantity if ladoo, then no need for 2 thread consistency syrup. Single thread is enough. //

We can make these ladoos using ready-made boondhis too. But buy the boondhi without salt or seasoning.
Don't be anxious on the results. The ladoo will turn out successful for all.It will be much easier, if we split and do the process as said in the anecdote.
Add 1/2 cup milk powder to boondhi syrup mixture, before making the laddu. This gives a more rich taste.

My treat for you all on  Diwali::

Sweets:
Boondhi ladoo
Jangiri
Athirasam (with rice flour)
Baklava
Maladdu
Gulab Jamun
Carrot halwa
Rasgulla
Wheat Halwa
Mysore bah
Maida Burfi
Badam katli
Milk peda(MW method)
Rava ladoo
Besan flour ladoo

Savories:
Murukku
Cashew pakoda
Ulunthu Vadai
Cinema theater samsa
Ribbon Pakoda
ordinary pakoda
Thukkada
Vaazhai poo vadai
Masal vadai

Payasam and kesari:
Semiya Javvarisi Paal Payasam
Paruppu payasam
Pineapple kesari
Rava kesari

For health:

Sukku malli coffee
Deepavali Legiyam
Home made Digestion syrup

Enjoy and have a beautiful Deepavali!

Gray squash poriyal

This is one vegetable I had a lot of confusion in buying. I don't know the Tamil translation for this vegetable, as I have never seen this before:) So when I saw this for the first time in an Asian market, I was not sure of the taste. But bought it one day to trial run. Surprisingly this tasted just like our Ridge gourd. Recording this Indianised gray squash recipe for you all.

Gray squash in a pack.

Ingredients:

Gray squash - 3
Onion - 1/2 cup (chopped)
green chilli - 2 (slit)
curry leaf - 1 sprig
Shredded coconut - 2 tbsp
Oil - 2 tsp
mustard seed - 1/2 tsp
cumin seed - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste

Method:

Peel and chop the squash. keep aside.
Heat oil in a wok.
Add mustard seeds and let them pop.
Immediately add chopped onion, curry leaf, green chilly and stir well til the onion gets semi cooked.
Now add the chopped squash along with 1/2 cup water and cook it tightly covered till the squash gets soft.
Add salt to taste.
Then add the cumin and shredded coconut and stir to loose all the moisture.
Take off heat.
Gray squash stir fry is ready!

Serving suggestions:

The above said quantity can be served for 3 people.
Serve as side dish with roti or sambar rice, rasam or any spicy puli kulambu.

Fish cutlet

I tasted this cutlet for the first time in my friend Gnanam's house (school days). At that time cutlets were served only in restaurants in my home town and newer recipes were rare. Only the young girls would try newer recipes from the cook-books, while the elders sticking with their own tradition. Gnanam's elder sister Clara akka is the one I admire a lot for her cooking, dedication and religious activities. May be she is the one kindled my passion for Jesus, though we have not talked much on that Subject. We all have some role models in life in each and every thing we do, may be our dressing style or way of talking etc, I should say I learned much from her.... Her recipes are the best for me till now. Then I prepared this cutlet at home to impress my mom. So it became our family's  favorite from then on. After marriage I rarely cook fish because of hubby's taste buds:)

Fish cutlet served with lemon wedge. The picture didn't do justice here :)

Fishes suitable for cutlet:

Fish -1/4 kg
Shark (sura meen), king fish (vanjiram/seela meen), sword fish (vazhai meen),
Any fish with good flesh like salmon, red snapper(sankara / romeo), Tuna fish fresh or canned.
I generally prefer shark for this cutlet.

Cooking the fish:

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a vessel. Add turmeric powder 1/2 tsp (to reduce fishy smell), salt - 1 tsp. Then add the washed / cleaned fish pieces along with the skin and bones.
Close it with a lid and cook for 5 minutes.
After it gets cool, peel off the skin and remove the bones.
Mash the fish with your hand or masher without any lumps.

Other ingredients:

Potato (boiled) - 2 (100 gm)
onion - 1
green chillies - 2
ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
fennel - 1 tsp
curry leaf, cilantro, mint leaf (together) - finely chopped 2 tbsp
red chilly powder - 1 tsp
garam masal powder - 1 tsp
lime juice from 1/8 fruit
salt to taste
bread crumbs - 1 cup
egg - 1
oil - to shallow fry

Method:

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok. Add the fennel, finely chopped onion, green chilly, leaves and fry till they wilt. Then add the ginger garlic paste and stir well.
Now add the mashed fish, chilly powder, garam masal powder, salt and fry till moisture is gone.
Now mash the cooked potatoes and add, again stir well.
Sprinkle the lemon juice and switch off.

Frying the cutlet:

Heat some oil to shallow fry the cutlet in a broad based wok.
Pour the egg to a broad dish. Add salt and beat well.
In another plate spread the bread crumbs.
Now take a lemon size ball from the prepared fish mixture. Flatten it to get a oval or circular shape with 3/4 inch thickness.
Dip that in beaten egg, then dip it in bread crumbs.
Bring it to a perfect shape. Shallow fry it both sides. Drain oil and serve hot.
Fish cutlet is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve as evening snack or along with rice as side dish.
Mostly this fish cutlet goes well with tomato sauce.

Tips:

Making the cutlets with canned fish is much easy.
Bread crumbs can be prepared at home using few bread slices. Just leave them in a hot oven for a few minutes and powder it.
Left over sura puttu can be made into this cutlet the next day.
2 tins of Tuna fish (water based) and 2 small potatoes will yield 10 or 11 cutlets.

Mango Ice cream

This is my hubby's most favorite ice cream. He always grabs a pack of this flavor whenever we visit a nearby Asian grocery shop. On seeing that, I wanted to make it at home to get the true Indian flavored Mango ice cream. while browsing, I got this recipe from the video, hosted by Hetal and Anuja. Thanks dearies. You have given me a very handy recipe admired by all our friends and family.
From then on, our Fridays can't be complete without this yummy bowl of ice cream on hand:)

There are only three ingredients here, which makes our job easy. We may need just 5 minutes to prepare this one by using readymade pulp. But the ice cream made from fresh mangoes are worth trying too, during the mango season.
Last summer I tried it using fresh mangoes and it was successful. But I would like to recommend mango pulp in can, as we cannot be sure of the quality of fresh mangoes in some places. Sour mangoes won't give the expected taste or color. So its safer to use the canned ones.

Alphonso mango varieties are the best. Here is the picture of another variety (don't know the name) of mangoes I used.

The mangoes I got from an Indian grocery store.

Those three ingredients.....

Very natural mango ice cream garnished with blueberry, mango slice and mint leaf.

When the mango season was over,  I started using canned mango pulp.

Mango ice cream before freezing. Look at the gorgeous color I got by the canned version.

Inviting cup of Home made mango ice cream served.

Ingredients:

Mango Pulp - 30 oz can (4 cups of puree)
(or) 1 kg of fresh mango
Sweetened Condensed Milk - 14 oz can (400 gm)
Whipped Topping - 8 oz  (225 gm)
Fresh Mango - cubed (optional)

Method:

Take a mixing bowl and add the mango Pulp (or freshly pureed mangoes) and Condensed milk . Mix well.
Then add the finely chopped mango pieces .(optional).
Now put the whipped topping and mix gently.
Transfer them to a freezer-safe container.
Cover and freeze for 3-4 hours.

Creamy rich mango ice cream is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Serve as dessert.
Serves nearly 15 people.
Before scooping, keep the ice cream in room temperature for 2 minutes to facilitate smooth handling.

A book sale and Dijon chicken

Book sale:
We cherish some sales as remarkable and incredibly fantastic. One among them is the book exhibition. I am not a great fan of novels, but love to read on various culture, cuisines , arts etc. I have a good collection of folk tales and comics in our house in India but never thought of experiencing one here till I saw a pamphlet on the side-walk.

Various books we bought from the sale. That is the brown bag I mentioned here.

Some months ago, we went to a book sale conducted by the public library of Piscataway, NJ. They called it as the 'brown bag sale'. I hope this is common in many parts of the country. The sale was on some marked books aimed at removing the clutter, it seems. They sold big brown paper bag for $5 and people were allowed to fill the bag with the books they wish. It was much beneficial for both the ends and I could see happy faces all over the hall. That was like cherry picking for the book worms and thrillers were sold the best. I was surprised at their cook book collection as well as the arts side. While hubby was browsing the mystery novels, I gathered some nice books on cooking, quilting etc. Look at the treasure I got:)

Wow! what a catch for $5.

Dijon Chicken:
Then I tried a simple recipe, Dijon chicken from the book 'Hooray for chicken', by Family Living magazine. All the ingredients are very common except the dijon mustard. So I bought it from Shoprite and prepared this dish along with pasta. It was a big hit.
If you cannot get dijon mustard, please see the guidelines to make one. I prefer wine-less dijon mustard, so look for the ingredients before buying, if you have any preference. (Vinegar is substituted for wine in  my pack).

Dijon chicken served with pasta.

Ingredients:

chicken boneless / breast - 1 lb
Dijon mustard - 3 tbsp
(its a sauce available in supermarkets)
butter - 5 tbsp
garlic powder - 1 tbsp
onion - 1 (crushed)
salt - to taste
black / white pepper powder - 2 tbsp

Method:

wash and clean the chicken breasts (approximately 4).
I cut it into 3 inch size pieces. But the original version calls for using the whole big pieces.
Mix Dijon mustard sauce, butter, salt, pepper, onion, garlic.
Add to chicken and marinate for 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 deg.
Grease a baking pan.
Place the chicken pieces separately in a baking pan and bake for 1 hour.
Broil to get the red color.
Garnish with parsley. (I didn't have parsley, so I left it).

Serving suggestions:

Generally they use big pieces of chicken for this recipe, but I chopped mine for more marinated effect.
Makes a good side dish for pasta.

Pumpkin corn soup

The colorful autumn season and pumpkin are inseparable. To welcome this season I am publishing a post lying on my draft for a long time. This pumpkin soup is a pureed version of soup with sweet corn to munch on. I personally love this soup very much during cold weather, when we get pumpkin in abundance.

I coined this recipe after tasting it in a friend's home. I was much attracted to this colorful soup topped with a chunk of sweet corn. Its purely inspired by Archana's mom's lovely pumpkin soup.
Thanks Nalini Aunty!

Her procedure doesn't call for any apple. But I add tart apples for a more sharp taste. So it is optional to add apples here.

Ingredients:

Sweet pumpkin - 1 cup (chopped)
(1 long piece is enough)
Any tart apple - 1/2 cup
Sweet corn - 1/4 cup
Sweet corn cob (boiled and sliced) - 1 or 2
onion - 1/2
black pepper - 1 tsp
cumin - 1 tsp
green chillies - 1
butter - 1 tbsp
salt - to taste

Method:

Heat butter in a wok. Saute the sliced onion till it wilts. Take out and add the pumpkin, apple, chilly and saute in the remaining grease. Let it cook a little.

Let cool and puree them in a blener with salt, pepper, cumin, chilly and sauteed onion. Transfer it to the wok and add a cup of water to get a thick soup consistency.
Add the corn kernel and cook well.
Switch off after raw smell vanishes.

Separately cook the corn cob and slice it to 3 inch pieces. Add them to the soup.

Serve the soup in a bowl topped with a piece of corn cob.

Pumpkin corn soup is ready!

Serving suggestions:

Makes 3 servings.
Adding apples is not a must.