Paneer Peas White Kurma | White Kurma

Paneer Peas White Kurma, a delicious coconut based curry made with paneer and green peas. It's one of the easiest curries to make and it tastes so amazing with chapati/roti. 

Kurma is a coconut based curry which is a famous side dish for chapati in South India. It's usually made with a mix of vegetables and i'm quite fond of that kurma and chapati combo. 

If you're looking for a delicious yet easy to make curry for roti/chapati then i would highly recommend to give a try on this curry. It's so simple to make ! All you have to do is "Grind and dump the ingredients in a pressure cooker and cook for a couple of whistles. That's it ! 

In today's recipe, i have been using a pressure cooker to make the kurma. But you can make this kurma in an open pot method also. 

If you're making this curry in an open pot method, make sure to saute the ingredients listed under "To grind" before grinding into fine paste. It would remove the raw smell of the curry a lot quicker.

Now let's check out on how to make this delicious Paneer Peas White Kurma.

Paneer Peas White Kurma

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Paneer Peas White Kurma, White Kurma, Paneer Kurma Paneer Peas White Kurma, a delicious coconut based curry made with paneer and green peas. It's one of the easiest curry to make and it taste so amazing with chapati/roti.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

Paneer - 3/4 cup

Peas - 1/2 cup

Onion - 1/2 (finely chopped)

Curry leaves - a few

Cinnamon - a small piece

Cloves - 2 

Lemon Juice - 1 tsp

Coriander leaves - a few

Salt - to taste

Oil - 1 & 1/2 tbsp

To grind

Onion -1/2 

Grated Coconut - 1/2 cup

Green Chili - 2 

Pepper corns - 1/2 tsp

Cinnamon - 1/2 inch piece

Cloves - 2 

Cardamon -1

Cashew - 8

Roasted Chana Dal / Pottukadalai - 1 &1/2 tbsp

Ginger - 1/2 inch piece

Garlic - 2 cloves

Fennel Seed - 1/4 tsp 

Procedure

First take all the ingredients listed under "To grind", put them all in a blender and grind into smooth paste by adding needed water and keep it aside.

Next, heat the oil in a pressure cooker and add cinnamon and cloves , saute it for 30 secs, then add the finely chopped onions and curry leaves. Saute till the onions are soft.

Then add the grounded coconut paste and saute it 2-3 mins, then add about 1 cup of water (i have added the blender jar washed water here).

Mix it well and then add the peas(i have used frozen peas) and paneer.

Finally add the salt , give a good mix and then close the pressure cooker with the lid and put on the weight. Cook it for 2 whistles.

Once the pressure is naturally released , open the lid, give the curry a good mix and add the lemon juice and finely chopped coriander leaves. 

Mix it well. Tada, Delicious Paneer peas Kurma is ready to serve.

Related : How to make malai kofta curry

Notes:

• If you're using dried peas, make sure to soak it overnight.
• Cut the paneer into your desired shapes.
• The curry has very mild spice so adjust the green chili quantity as per your taste.

Continue Reading »

Mohanthal, a traditional Gujarathi sweet made from the besan / chickpeas flour. It's one of my favorite sweets made with besan. The flavor and the taste of Mohanthal is simply amazing. Trust me, it's so addictive and you can't stop it with just one piece of  Mohanthal. 

As a South Indian, i was never aware of this for a very long time, a couple of years ago only i came to know about this sweet. By looking at the ingredients and the process of making this sweet itself, i knew that would be delicious. 

As of now, i have made this sweet a lot of times on various occasions and it's always a big hit.  Since this was a new sweet to me initially, i have browsed through a lot of recipes and tried different ratios of ingredients every time when i make and eventually found the recipe that i like the most.

As of now, i have made this sweet a lot of times on various occasions and it's always a big hit.  Since this was a new sweet to me initially, i have browsed through a lot of recipes and tried different ratios of ingredients every time when i make and eventually found the recipe that i like the most.

Many recipes call for khoya/mawa for making mohanthal but in today's recipe that i'm sharing, i haven't used khoya but still the mohanthal has melt in your mouth texture. 

Roasting the besan/kadalai maavu

Roasting the besan properly is the key to make delicious mohanthal. Since my kitchen has yellow light, i have taken the picture of the besan in daylight for three main stages that you can see  in the pic below.

Make sure to keep the flame in low-medium and roast the besan well. It shouldn't be burned at any stage and at the same time it should be dark brown after roasting in the ghee. Then once you add the milk to the besan-ghee mixture, it instantly turns reddish brown in color (last pic in the collage below) and that's the time to remove from the heat. 

Sugar Syrup Consistency 

Once the besan is roasted well, half the work is already done. Next is the sugar syrup. Make sure to boil the sugar syrup till it reaches one string consistency. That's the key to setting the mohanthal. 

If the sugar syrup passes the one string consistency, then the mohanthal would be hard. Or if the sugar syrup doesn't reach the one string consistency, then the mohanthal wouldn't set and be like halwa. 

Take the sugar syrup with the spoon and add a few drops in a small bowl. After a few secs, it should be bearable hot, at that time, take the sugar syrup between your thumb and index finger, pull the fingers gently, a single thread should form. That's the correct stage for sugar syrup.

Beginners Tips 

• Don't leave the besan unattended while roasting. It easily gets burned at the bottom.
• If it's not set after a few hours, then place it on the refrigerator and it will set immediately.

Happy Deepavali to all ! Have a fun-filled day with your loved ones. Will see you all again in another post soon. 

Mohanthal | Gujarathi Mohanthal Recipe

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 30 mins | Serves : 6 
Recipe Category: Sweet | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Mohanthal, Mohanthal without Khoya , Mohanthal without mawa , Mohanthal sweet,Gujarathi Mohanthal Mohanthal, a traditional Gujarathi sweet made from the besan / chickpeas flour. It's one of my favorite sweets made with besan.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

Kadalai Maavu / Besan - 1 cup

Sugar - 1/2 cup

Ghee - 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp

Milk - 1/4 cup + 1.5 tbsp

Water - 1/4 cup

Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp

Almonds(silvered) - a few (optional)

Procedure

First take the besan in a bowl, add 1 tbsp of ghee and 1.5 tbsp of milk into it. 

Mix it well with your hands and then sieve the mixture through the siever.

The besan looks like a fine beach sand, that's the perfect texture for mohanthal. Next heat a thick bottomed kadai, add the remaining 1/2 cup ghee.

When the ghee starts to warm up, add the besan mixture and mix it well. 

Roast the besan in the ghee till it turns into dark brown.It takes around 15-18 mins in the low medium flame. Stir the mixture continuously to avoid burning at the bottom. Initially the mixture would be thick, roasting continuously would make the mixture lighter and a little bit thinner.

Once the mixture is dark brown, add the remaining 1/4 cup of cup and mix it well. The mixture instantly turns into reddish brown. 

Colors of besan at each stages. Since my kitchen has yellow light, I have captured the  three stages of besan color alone in day light for easy understanding 

Once the mixture turns reddish brown, remove the besan mixture from the heat and keep it aside. Next let's make sugar syrup, add the sugar and water in a sauce pan and bring into boil.

 Keep the flame in medium and boil the syrup till it reaches one string consistency. Next add the sugar syrup and cardamom powder into the besan mixture and mix it well.

 Once it all comes together as a homogenous mixture. Put it in the flame and cook it for around 3-4 mins or until it leaves the sides of the pan.

Then transfer the mixture into the ghee applied pan(i used parchment paper also for safety) . Garnish the top with the almonds and let it cool completely. Once it completely cools down, cut into desired shape.

Delicious Mohanthal is ready to serve.

Related:How to make Milk Cake 

Notes

• You can garnish with any types of nuts or edible silver paper or leave it as it is also.
• I have used full fat milk and highly recommend to use that for rich taste.

Continue Reading »

Eggless Blueberry Lemon Scones | Blueberry Scones

Blueberry Lemon Scones, a buttery and melt in your mouth delicious scones with a hint of lemon flavor. 

Scones are one of my favorite baking dishes and i absolutely love the texture of the scones and also its mild sweetness. It's  perfect for mid-morning snacking as well as tea time snacks.

While blueberries are in season, a local store in our area carries blueberry scones in their baked goodies section and we like those scones so used to buy it often. Though i make scones at home very rarely, i absolutely love the warm scones. Hence i was determined to make these blueberry scones at home and was waiting for the blueberry season :-)

As it was a new recipe to me, as usually I browsed for the recipes and tried a few and finally satisfied with this recipe. I love the addition of buttermilk and lemon zest in this recipe, it gives a nice flavor and mild tangy taste to the scone which elevates the taste of the scones to a whole new level.

Blueberries 

In this recipe , i have used the fresh blueberries which are really sweet. But you can also use the frozen blueberries and make these scones at any time of the year :-)

Butter 

I have used unsalted cultured butter for great flavor. If you're using salted butter, leave the salt in the recipe and also you can use sweet butter too. 

Make sure that the butter is really cold. If your kitchen is warm or you're baking these on a hot sunny day, then cut the butter into cubes and freeze it . Then take it out only at the time of making the dough.

Making the dough

Unlike any other dough, you don't need to knead the dough for scones, just mix it all together and when it all comes together, stop mixing. 

More kneading would form the gluten in the dough which will affect the texture of the scones and make it chewy like bread. The scones should be soft yet crumbly not chewing.

Ok, now let's check out how to make blueberry scones.

Eggless Blueberry Lemon Scones

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Desserts | Recipe Cuisine: Western
Eggless Blueberry Scones,Blueberry scones, Blueberry Lemon Scones,Eggless Blueberry Lemon Scones Blueberry Scones, a buttery and melt in your mouth delicious scones with a hint of lemon flavor.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

All purpose flour - 1 cup

Blue berries  - 1/2 cup

Cold Butter - 1/4 cup

Milk - 1/3 cup

Sugar - 3 tbsp 

Salt - 1/4 tsp

Baking powder - 1/2 tsp

Lemon zest - 1/2 tbsp

Lemon juice  - 1tbsp

Procedure

Preheat the oven @420F.

First take the milk in a cup and add the lemon juice in it, it will slightly curdle and become a buttermilk in a 10 mins. If you have butter milk, then skip this step and use the buttermilk directly in the dough.

In an another wide bowl, take the flour and then add the small cube size butter into it. With your fingers, gently incorporate the butter into the flour.

Next add the sugar, salt, lemon zest,  baking powder and blue berries into the flour. Mix them well.

Finally add the buttermilk and gather together as a dough. Don't knead the dough.

Use the cookie cutter, cut them in to rounds and place it on the parchment lined baking tray.

Brush the top of the scone with the milk and bake the scones in the preheated oven for 15-20 mins @ 420 F or until the bottom is slightly brown.

Delicious Blueberry Scones are ready.

Related : How to make Apple Turnovers

Notes:

• If you like more sweetness, sprinkle a little bit of granulated sugar on top before baking.

Continue Reading »

Palapazham Kozhukattai / Chakka Kozhukattai, a delicious stuffed kozhukattai made with the jackfruit & coconut filling. 

I'm a big fan of jackfruit and whenever i see a jackfruit at the grocery store(which is very rare here in Canada), without a second thought, i would pick it up.  I like to eat jackfruit as it is, so making dishes with jackfruit is very rare in my  kitchen. 

One day, the jackfruit that i got was very less sweet so it was sitting in the refrigerator for a few days without anyone touching it, hence i had thought of making this kozhukattai which i knew from a friend. To my surprise, it was so good and i simply love the jackfruit flavor in the kozhukattai. 

From then onwards, this kozhukattai became a regular in my kitchen. If you too like jackfruit flavor, then definitely give a try on this delicious kozhukattai.

Before moving on to the recipe, let's see some FAQs about the mothagam in general.

Why can't I shape the modak / mothagam ?

Dough consistency is the key to making modak shapes easily. There are a couple of things to be taken care of for making the dough. Those are 

• Rice flour should be fine enough such that adding hot water into the flour makes it almost cooked. 
• Almost cooked rice flour is pliable and easy to make shapes. Otherwise you can't make shapes and the dough would be easily breakable. 
• Water should be boiled for making the dough.
• Grease your hands well to avoid the dough sticking to your hands while shaping.
• If you're a beginner, buy a modak/mothagam mold, it will do your job a lot easier. 

Why do my modak/mothagam get cracked after steaming?

Steaming for a longer time would make the modak crack on the outer layer. Since the dough is almost cooked already, there is no need to cook for a longer time. Just 5-7 mins of steaming is enough. 

Palapazham Kozhukattai | Jackfruit Kozhukattai

Preparation Time : 15 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Serves : 3 
Recipe Category: Sweet | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Palapazham Kozhukattai, chakka kozhukkatai, jackfruit kozhukattai,Jackfruit recipes, Kozhukattai recipe Palapazham Kozhukattai / Chakka Kozhukattai, a delicious stuffed kozhukattai made with the jackfruit and coconut filling.

Sandhiya https://www.facebook.com/SandhiyasCookbook https://www.instagram.com/sandhiyascookbook/

Ingredients

For outer layer

Rice flour - 1/2 cup
Sesame oil - 1/2 tsp
Salt - a pinch
Boiling water - little less of 1/2 cup

For Stuffing/Pooranam

Jackfruit - 7

Jaggery - 1/3 cup

Grated Coconut - 1/2 cup

Procedure

First let's make the stuffing/pooranam. Take the jackfruit and remove the seeds and place it on the steamer basket and steam it for 3-4 mins until they are soft.

Let them cool a bit and grind into smooth puree. In a sauce pan, add the jackfruit puree, coocnut and jaggery. Give a quick mix.

Turn on the heat and cook the mixture till it leaves the sides of the pan. Let it cool down completely.

Now, for the outer layer, take the flour in a bowl, add sesame oil and salt. Give a good mix. 

Pour the hot water into the flour and make a soft dough. Keep it aside for 5 mins.

Take a small portion of dough and make a smooth ball. Grease your hand with oil and then gently press the dough with your finger and form a small disc. Fill the disc with the pooranam/jackfruit stuffing. 

Next close the edge and then pinch on the edges to form a nice rim. Place it on the steamer basket and steam it for 4-5 mins. 

Delicious Jackfruit Kozhukattai / Palapazham Kozhukattai is ready.

Related : How to make Jackfruit Payasam / Chakka pradaman

Notes:

• Depends on the sweetness of the jackfruit, you may need more or less of jaggery.
• Sesame oil gives great flavor to the outer dough.

Continue Reading »