Orange Carrot Jiuce

Now only summer started here but it’s already too hot to go out, need lot of fluid that too for kids they always need something new. Last time when we went to shopping, found Florida sweet orange and bought a huge box, my kids favorite fruit. Daily tried different flavored orange juice in that orange and carrot combination turned out so good. For the second day of cooking with colors I choose orange and carrot, no other combination will bring this bright orange color.

 

 

 

Ingredients:

Fresh Orange Juice	1 cup
Fresh Carrot Juice	1 cup
Lemon Juice	½ Tbsp
Mint leaves crushed	4-5
Ice cubes	¼ cup
Honey	1 Tbsp

 

Directions:

1. Take one cup fresh orange juice (I used 2 oranges for this).
2. Peel carrot and chop roughly using ¼ - ½ cup water blend that well and filter the juice.
3. In a big mixing bowl add both juices with honey, lemon juice and ice cubes, give a nice stir. Finally add crushed mint and serve. If needed you can refrigerate and serve.

 

 

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Shahi Paneer

Shahi Paneer is one of the famous Mughali Cuisine side dish, as the name says Shahi means Royal it’s one of the very rich gravy. I have heard about this but didn’t have any idea how to make. When I am searching about this got lot of confusion then thought ask my friends for original recipe, finally got help from one of my co blogger Vaishali tried her version and it was awesome which I am sharing here. Thanks vaishali for your recipe.

For the next three days I am going to post under Cooking with Colors theme for BM. Valli gave a list of ingredients for colors, when I am going through that felt need to thank God for giving us such a wonderful colors in our food. For the first day I choose white color the given ingredient was Paneer.

 

Ingredients:

Paneer	1 cup
Tomatoes chopped	2 cup or 3 medium size
Cashew nut	7-8
Ginger chopped	1 Tbsp
Garlic chopped	1 Tbsp
Roasted Cumin powder	1 tsp
Kasthoori Methi	1 Tbsp
Chili powder	2 tsp
Turmeric powder	¼ tsp
Fresh cream	½ cup
Cilantro	for garnish
Salt
Oil

 

Directions:

1. Soak cashew in hot water for 10 – 15 minutes. Grind tomatoes and soaked cashew to a smooth paste.
2. Heat oil in a pan, fry ginger and garlic with a pinch of hing (optional), then add the ground tomato paste.
3. Allow it to cook for 4-5 minutes, then add cumin powder, chili and turmeric powder. Give it a nice stir, add methi salt and enough water and allow it to cook until the oil start to ooze out.
4. In this stage add paneer and cream mix well and allow cooking when it comes to first boil. Turn off the stove and garnish with cilantro. Serve this with rice or roti.

 

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Sweet Urad Dal Vada / Enippu Ulundha Vadai

For the final day another interesting sweet, Sweet Urad dal Vadai (Enippu Ulundha Vadai), I tasted this after years during my last India trip. Thinking about this for longtime, finally the came and tried this last week.

Ingredients:

Split Chana dal / kadalai parrupu	1 cup
Urad dal	1 cup
Jaggery	1 cup
Oil	for deep frying
Salt	a pinch

 

Directions:

1. Soak urad dal and split chana dal separately for 3 hours.
2. Drain the water completely and grind both dals to smooth batter without adding any water.
3. Finally add both dal together with jaggery and grind for few seconds (just to mix everything together).
4. Heat oil in a kadai, take a tablespoon of batter and carefully drop in oil and cook in medium heat until it’s cooked inside.
5. Drain the excess oil in tissue paper and serve this with banana, ghee and honey mixture.

 

Note:

• In this sweet the sweetness will be mild, so to compensate that it is served with banana honey mixture. But I love the mild sweetness so skipped the banana part here.
• When grinding the dal don’t even add a single drop of water, if you find its hard to grind add a small piece of jaggery it helps to grind.
• By the same time don’t add to much jaggery just one or two small pieces.
• Finally after adding 1 cup jagger don’t grind for long time, as soon as you add the jaggery you can see the batter will start to lose the thickness.
• If you grind longtime then you might not able to make the vadai, to avoid this you can use 1 ¼ cup split chana dal.
• If using powdered jaggery don’t grind just mix using hand. You can substitute palm sugar instead of jaggery.

 

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Godhumai Halwa/ Wheat Flour Halwa

Today’s recipe is one of the famous south Indian sweet Halwa, Tirunelveli is famous for this halwa. For traditional godhumai halwa we need to soak whole wheat for 8 – 10 hours then grind and extract the milk out of it and then it’s cooked with sugar and ghee. Since it’s a long process tried this quick version it turned very close to original one. Halwa is one of my favorite sweet, whenever I have a craving for this my mom use to make maida halwa in the same way.

 

 

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour	1 cup
Sugar	1 ½ cup
Ghee	¾ cup
Water	2 ½ cup
Cashew nut	1 ½ Tbsp
Raisin	1 Tbsp

 

Directions:

1. Sift flour in a large mixing bowl, add water and make lump free batter. Batter should be milk consistency so if needed add another half cup of water.
2. Heat one tablespoon ghee and roast cashew nut and raisin once it’s done remove and keep aside.
3. In the same pan add wheat flour milk with 2 tablespoon of ghee and start to cook on medium heat.
4. Keep on stirring within few minutes the mixture will start to thicken, in this stage add half sugar and half portion of ghee.
5. Again keep stirring until all ghee is absorbed, then add the remaining ghee and sugar keep stirring.
6. After 10 minutes the mixture will start to leave the pan. In this stage add cashew nut and raisin.
7. Keep stirring for another 5 minutes or more in one stage the mixture will comes together like dough and looks transparent, turn off the stove.
8. Transfer the mixture to greased plate, using a greased flat bottomed bowl smooth the top surface and allow it to cool.
9. When it is warm enough to cut grease a sharp knife and slice it as required and enjoy.

 

Note:

• If you are not sweet toothed use 1 ¼ cup sugar.
• When halwa is done you can see the shininess.
• If you don’t mind about ghee add another 2 tablespoons.
• Instead of whole wheat flour you can use atta flour too.

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Kadalaiparrupu Paniyaram (Sweet)

Blogging Marathon is an interesting group, which motivates many bloggers like me. For this week I choose “course wise meal from any state” theme, valli gave few more options for course wise meal I planned to go with sweet from Tamil Nadu, that too from Kongu Cuisine.

For first day Kadalai Parrupu Paniyaram its one of the important sweet dishes my mom use to make for Puratasi Amavasai.

Ingredients:

For Stuffing:
Kadalai Parrupu / Split channa dal	1 cup
Powdered jaggery	1 cup
Grated coconut	⅓ cup
Cardamom powder	½ tsp
For Covering:
All purpose flour/ Maida	1 cup
Salt	¼ tsp
Water	as needed
Ghee or oil
Yields: 40 pieces

 

Directions:

1. Pressure cook, channa dal with enough water for 2 whistles.
2. Drain the water and allow to cool, using a mixe pulse the dal for couple times.
3. Dry roast the coconut for few minutes (no need to change the color) cool the coconut, add it to dal again pulse once.
4. Next add jaggery and cardamom powder and pulse until everything blends well.
5. Make small lemon size balls (Laddu) from this dal mixture. Keep it aside.
6. In aother mixing bowl, add maida, salt and mix well. Then add water little by little and make a lump free batter (like dosa batter).
7. Heat the paniyaram pan, add quarter teaspoon of ghee or oil in each hole.
8. Take a dal ball and dip in the batter then place that in one hole. Repeat this for remaining balls.
9. Once it’s cooked turn and cook another side.

 

Note:

• When pressure cooking the dal, don’t overcook.
• Drain all the water before grinding, after adding jaggery don’t grind too much or else dal mixture will be watery and when cooking the mixture might come out.
• Even this Laddus are served separately without outer coving.
• If you don’t have paniyaram pan don’t worry you can deep fry after dipping in maida.

 

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Peanut Kulambu

Peanuts are rich in nutrients; same time heard it’s allergic too. My grandfather use to cultivate peanut in his farm, its harvested close to our vacation me and my cousins will help to remove the peanut from plants, dry then remove the shell its fun time. As soon as we remove the fresh peanut from plants we use to cook them with shell it use to be very tasty missing those fresh one now. But when thinking those childhood memories really feeling so happy and felt like tasted those delicious peanuts. Last week when we went to Indian store found those fresh raw peanuts bought some, like me my husband and kids are also love this peanuts. Even though it didn’t taste like back home peanuts “Some thing is better than nothing” right.

Coming to today’s recipe Peanut Kulambu, first time I tasted this in my periya amma’s places during my India visit, got the recipe and tried first time for a get together and it was a big hit and vanished very quick.

 

 

Ingredients:

Peanut cooked	½ cup
Onion chopped	½ cup
Tomato chopped	1 small size
Bringal	2 small size
Tamarind	Large gooseberry size
Sambar powder	2 tsp
Curry leaves	few
Mustard seeds	½ tsp
Salt	as per taste
Oil	2 Tbsp
To Grind:
Cinnamon	½ inch
Clove	2
Garlic	3 big pods
Dry red chili	1-2
Cumin seeds	1 tsp
Pepper pods	½ tsp
Split chana dal	1 Tbsp
Poppy seeds	½ tsp
Coriander powder	2 tsp
Coconut	2 Tbsp

 

Directions:

1. In a teaspoon of oil roast all the ingredients (except coconut and coriander powder) in the same order until light brown, finally add coconut and coriander roast for another 2 minutes and turn off and allow to cool.
2. Heat 2 tablespoon of oil, splutter mustard seeds when it pops, add onion and curry leaves.
3. Saute until it turns soft, add chopped tomatoes and cook until mushy, cut the bringal length wise and add.
4. Cook until it turns soft, then add tamarind pulp when it starts to boil add turmeric powder, sambar powder and salt.
5. Allow it to cook for another 4-5 minutes, meantime grind the roasted mixture to smooth paste.
6. Once the raw smell of tamarind leaves add the ground mixture and cooked peanut mix well with enough water and cook until the oil starts to ooze out.
7. Serve this with rice.

 

Note:

• I used fresh raw peanuts, pressure cook with salt for 5-6 whistles then remove the shell and use the peanuts.
• If using dry raw peanuts, soak it in water for about 1-2 days and pressure cook with salt for 4-5 whistles.

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