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Showing posts from March, 2013

Blue berry Rawa Kesari

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A very simple and common preparation enhanced by these lovely blue berries giving the dish a nice color and flavor... 1/2 cup rawa 1/2 cup sugar little less than 1/2 cup blueberries few broken cashewnuts for garnish 1/8th tsp of elaichi powder 1/4 cup of ghee Roast the rawa in about 2 tsp of ghee till you get the aroma.  In the meanwhile, heat up about 2 cups of water in the microwave.  Slowly add this hot water to the rawa keeping the flame at low.  Turn up the heat and cook the rawa nicely without any lumps.  Once this is done, add the sugar, elaichi powder and half of the ghee.  Let this cook until the sugar is melted completely.  Again, microwave the blueberries quickly to soften them and add this to the rawa cooking in the sugar.  Add the rest of the ghee and cook until it comes together and does not remain sticky to the touch.  Garnish with some cashews roasted in ghee...

Celery and Tomato Rice/Pulao

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Celery was one such vegetable where I was always tempted to add it my grocery cart but was at loss of ideas as to how to use it in the kitchen.   I  used to see that it was a staple in soups American restaurants and served quite often on salad platters in parties.  I have also used the celery for such dishes.   But how many kids would ever go for the celery given its fibrous and stringy texture?  But over the years I have learnt to use it abundantly in my traditional dishes as well.  I have been using it in sambars and oflate used it in these recipes Celery Paratha(to be posted),  Celery Coriander Thokku  and Celery and Peanut Chutney(to be posted). Thus was born the idea of a nice tangy Celery Rice combined with some ground tomatoes.  It can also be made into pulao by including onions and whole garam masala. 3/4 cup finely chopped celery 1 big tomato 1 long green chilli 1 inch ginger piece 1 cup basmati rice 1/4 tsp turmeric powder salt to taste oil mustard and urad

Date and Nut Rolls

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How about a tasty treat which is relatively guilt free compared to the ones which need lot of  fat and sugar?  This is my second attempt at this,  having made it earlier for my daughter's girl scout event.... Dates 30 nos Milk about 1/2 cup a couple of generous pinches of cardamom powder sugar abt 2 tblsps ghee(not melted) in semi solid state 5 tsp sliced almonds 1/4 cup toasted pista coarsely ground for garnish almond slices for garnish Cook the dates and milk in the pressure cooker.   Once it cools off, remove and grind into a paste. To begin with add a spoon of ghee into the pan and start cooking the paste.  After few minutes of stirring, add the sugar and some  more ghee. Slowly the mixture will begin to change color and also thicken a bit.  At this stage, you can add the coarsely ground roasted almonds and also the cardamom powder.   The mixture is done, once it comes together like a ball and is not sticky to the touch.  It should also look a bit shiny because of a