Sweeten your taste buds with Milk Peda!
Monsoons in Munnar have been quite hectic this time.Its been about two years since we had such heavy rainfalls.The river was half way to being flooded.Its time to laze out a bit from my hectic schedule as school has closed for the monsoon vacation for a month for us.Yesterday its my bro’s bday …as he’s in Moscow ..here’s mouth melting sweeties wishing u a wonderful birthday!
Malai Peda or Milk peda is a fav with my little one and me.I really love making them at home .These mouthwatering beauties are a fav among my culinary science students at school. Shazia and Shwetha…here’s the long awaited recipe…a treat for holidays!
Milk Peda
2 cups of milk powder
1 tin of condensed milk
3 tbsps of ghee
1/4 tsp of cardamom powder
Heat ghee in a heavy bottomed pan on medium flame,pour in the condensed milk.Stir in the milk powder and cardamom powder with a wooden spatula mixing without lumps.Keep the flame very low as milk burns very fast and stir till it thickens.Let it cool down and shape them into desired shapes.It is also optional to decorate these milk delicacies with pistachios/cashews/almonds.
A homemaker who fell head over heels in love with food -an award-winning cookbook author, food blogger, award-winning culinary demonstrator
Cashew Ladoos -memoir of Diwali!
Diwali -the festival of lights was a last week.Celebration of Diwali is all about firecrackers and sweets..this diwali I wanted to type in one of my most cherished sweets…Cashew Ladoos/Kaju ladoos.This is a very rich sweet made out of cashews.
CASHEW LADOOS
1/4 cup of water
1 1/4 cups sugar
3tbsp milk
1/2 kg cashew nuts
4 tsps of ghee
5-6 strands of saffron
Slightly roast the cashews in a pan and finely powder them in a mixer.Boil water and sugar in a saucepan stirring continuously till the sugar dissolves on low flame.When the syrup starts becoming thick, remove from flame and add in the ghee along with the milk and saffron.Stir it and add in the powdered cashew slowly mixing well.Once the powder is well combined with the syrup ,cook the mix on medium flame stirring till the ghee comes out.Let the mix cool down a little and make small balls out of the mix.
My little ones were gobbling up these ladoos as I made them.Guess after all cashew is an all time fav for all 😉
“Ram! The light of lights, the self-luminous inner light of the Self is ever shining steadily in the chamber of your heart. Sit quietly. Close your eyes. Withdraw the senses. Fix the mind on this supreme light and enjoy the real Deepavali, by attaining illumination of the soul.”
A homemaker who fell head over heels in love with food -an award-winning cookbook author, food blogger, award-winning culinary demonstrator
A Birthday note Buttered with Badami Chicken and Puffy Baturas!
This year’s birthday was a very very special one to me with my best buddies.Thank u guys for all your sweet wishes through FB.Luv u my TMS pals for giving me a special birthday wish and as part of the b’day I had no idea of making a cake and that too for my bday..the main thing was that I was damn lazy.If it was not for my friend Dhans I wouldn’t have ever made one:P
It was a total dillemma on who’s going to cut the cake with the cake almost done.Both my kiddos were on to cutting the cake and at last the three muskeeters were cutting the cake singing in chorous “Happy Birthday to you Amma!”….and I was clickin all this:D
What better way could I have my birthday celebrated!:D
Baturas the puffed yoghurt bread is one of my favs and when you have Badami chicken to accompany it the taste really gets richy rich.
Batura/Puffed Indian yoghurt bread
2 cups of all purpose flour
4 tbsp yoghurt
1tsp salt
1tsp sugar
1tsp yeast
3tsp of ghee
1 egg whisked
Oil for frying
In a bowl measure in the flour and making a well in the center,add in all the ingridients and mix well to make a soft dough.You can add up to 1/4 cup of water if you feel the ingridients dont come together.Let the dough rest for about 2 hrs covered,so that it gets doubled.Punch and knead the dough into balls and roll them out in to discs of about 5inch with a rolling pin.Heat oil in a kadai and fry these flat breads till puffy and golden on both sides.
Badam Chicken/Almond Chicken
1/2 kg chicken pieces
1 cup large onion sliced
2 tsp of ginger garlic paste
1/2cup of yoghurt
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
3 tsp chilli powder
3 cloves
2 cardamom
1 piece of cinnamon
1tsp sugar
10-15 almonds soaked and ground into fine paste
3/4 cup of tomato paste
2 tsps of chopped cilantro
salt to taste
Marinate the chicken pieces with yoghurt ,turmeric powder and salt keeping it for about an hour.Heat about 4tsps of oil in a kadai and add sugar and when it browns saute in the sliced onions till slightly brown.Transfer 1/4th of the sauted onion from the kadai and keep it aside.Add in the whole spices,ginger garlic paste,chilli powder and saute well on medium flame.Add in the tomato paste and mix well till the oil seperates.Add in the chicken pieces to the masala and stir well on high flame.Pour 2 cups of hot water and cook covered on medium flame.When the chicken is well cooked,stir in the badam paste and when the gravy thickens,garnish with chopped cilantro!
A homemaker who fell head over heels in love with food -an award-winning cookbook author, food blogger, award-winning culinary demonstrator
Mini Aloo Bondas for the monsoon!
The rains have started pouring out here..June and July being the monsoon months in Munnar. I really hate goin out when there are showers in Munnar. Some hot chocolate for the kids and tea for us are the best opted drinks with snacks..
The recipe that I have shared here are the ones that comes out from my Mom’s diary of recipes.This spicy Potato snack is one of my Monsoon favs!
Mini Aloo Bondas
For the filling
4-5 potatoes pressure cooked and mashed
5-6 green chillies finely chopped
a small piece of ginger finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
3 large onions chopped
cilantro chopped
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
a pinch of asafoetida powder
1 tsp lemon juice
salt to taste
For the batter
1 1/2 cup of gram flour
2 tbsp of rice flour
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
Water
salt to taste
Oil for frying
Heat 1tbsp oil in a pan.Pop the mustard seeds and add the asafoetida powder and stir.Add in the chopped large onions,green chillies,ginger and garlic and saute till the onions turn translucent.Add in the turmeric powder,chilli powder and garam masala .Stir and add in the mashed potatoes.Mix well with the required amount of salt and chopped cilantro till well incorporated and keep it aside.Add in the lemon juice and mix.
While the filling cools, mix all the ingridients required for the batter in a bowl.Slowly pour in water to make a batter of thick consistency .Make lemon sized balls of the filling.Dip the balls in the batter and deep fry them in oil.
Your Potato balls are ready to be served with ketchup.! 🙂
A homemaker who fell head over heels in love with food -an award-winning cookbook author, food blogger, award-winning culinary demonstrator
Suruttai Poli the “sweet rolls ” for ICC!
It was after Srivalli’s post that I was quite poppin out this wonderful snack.Thanks to Nithya for choosing such a wonderful recipe.This simple yet yummy snack has been a big hit with the kiddos..
Heres the recipe for this wonder snack..
SURUTTAI POLI
For the filling:
1 cup Roasted gram
1 cup sugar
20cashew nuts cut into small pieces
1tbsp grated coconut
1tsp cardamom powder
1tsp Ghee
Powder the roasted gram and sugar together either coarsely or to a fine powder.Heat ghee in a pan and roast the cashew nuts till golden in colour and add in the coconut and turn off the heat.Mix it with the powdered gram-sugar mix in a bowl.
For making the poli/Appalam:
1 cup all purpose flour
a pinch of salt
oil for frying
In a bowl combine flour with salt and add in water to make a stiff dough.Let it rest for 30 minutes.Pinch out small balls and roll them out into thin discs.Prick the rolled out discs with a fork so that they dont puff up while frying.Heat oil in a kadai and fry the discs before they turn colour.Be careful not to turn them crispy.On removing the poli from the oil spread the filling on to the poli and roll them tightly.These rolls are soft when they are hot ,but they become crispy when they are allowed to cool.
A homemaker who fell head over heels in love with food -an award-winning cookbook author, food blogger, award-winning culinary demonstrator
Hi! I am Nimi Sunilkumar…an award winning cookbook author /culinary demonstrator/freelance writer / food photographer/food blogger …spiced with the flavors of food..
