Pineapple Kesari, a delicious sweet made from semolina and pineapples. It's one of the famous sweets that's usually served in the South Indian marriage feast. 

The pineapple gives such a nice aroma to this kesari and truly elevates the taste of the kesari to the next level. This recipe is so similar to the regular kesari recipe just with the addition of pineapple. So you can make this very quickly for any occasion. I'm sure that your family and friends go on praising you for making this yummy sweet.

Pineapple

Pineapple is the key to this kesari so make sure to use well ripened and sweet pineapple. Here in the recipe, i have used fresh pineapples. But you can also use canned pineapples. 

While using fresh pineapples, make sure to remove all the eyes of the pineapple(a tiny thorn in the pineapple which gives itchiness in the tongue)

If you're using canned pineapple, use only pineapples and leave out the juice.

My pineapples are very sweet so i used 3/4 cup of sugar for 1/2 cup of rava. If the pineapples are less sweet, you may need a couple of tbsp of more sugar.

Finally, don't use the sour pineapples, it won't taste good  and ruins the whole recipe.

Related: How to make Pineapple raita

Water

For any kesari recipe,  the water quantity is very important to get that perfect texture. In general, 2 to 2.5 cups of water is needed for 1 cup of rava to get that soft and well cooked kesari depending on the rava quality.

Adding too much water makes the kesari sticky and slimy. And too little water makes it undercooked.

Therefore, when boiling the water, don't let it boil for a long time because some of the water evaporates and it affects water and rava ratio . So turn off the heat when the water comes to vigorous boil and pour that immediately into the roasted rava. 

How to avoid lumps in the kesari ? 

This is one of the common questions from the beginners while preparing the kesari. Here is my tip that i learned from my Amma. 

Make sure that both the rava and water are hot when they are mixed together. That way, there won't be any lumps in the kesari.

Hence you have to roast the rava and boil the water side by side at the same time. So that when the rava is well roasted, the hot water would be ready to pour. 

If you haven't tried this way of making kesari, do give it a try and i'm sure that there won't be any lumps. I have been following this method ever since i started cooking and so far, i never had any lumps in my kesari :-)

Ok, now let's check out on how to make delicious pineapple kesari.

 

Pineapple Kesari | Pineapple Sheera

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Serves : 4 
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Pineapple Kesari, Pineapple sheera Pineapple Kesari, a delicious sweet made from semolina and pineapples. It's one of the famous sweets that's usually served in the South Indian marriage feast.

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

Ingredients

Ravai/ Rava / Semolina - 1/2 cup

Pineapple(finely chopped) - 1/2 cup(heaped)

Sugar - 3/4 cup*

Ghee - 2 & 1/2 tbsp

Cashew - 8 to 10 

Water - 2 & 1/2 cup

Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp(optional)

Yellow Food Color - a few drops(optional)

*For more sweetness, you can use up to 1 cup of sugar.

Procedure

First in a saucepan, add the pineapple, sugar & mix it well. Keep it aside for 10 mins.

After 10 mins, the sugar starts to melt a bit. Now add the water, mix it well and place the sauce pan in the heat and bring to boil.

In the meantime, heat 2 tbsp of ghee in another pan, add the cashews, roast the cashews for about 1 min.

Keep the heat in medium and then add the rava, roast the rava in the ghee until it's very aromatic.

By the time the rava is well roasted, the water should also come to a boil. Add a few drops of food color(if you're using)  to the water and then pour the hot water into the rava(keep the rava at the lowest possible heat.). It splatter a lot, so be careful. 

Once all the water is poured, give a gentle mix and then cover it with a lid for about 2 mins.

Now, the rava would be  well cooked , add the cardamom powder(if you're using) and the remaining 1/2 tbsp ghee on the top. Switch off the flame and keep it covered for 2 mins.

Delicious Pineapple Kesari is ready to serve. 

Related: How to make Paal Kesari / Milk Kesari 

Notes

• It tastes great after a few hours of making so that the pineapple flavor is well infused in the kesari and give such a nice flavor and taste.
• Adding more sugar gives the glossy texture to the kesari. You can add up to 1 cup of sugar for 1/2 cup of rava. However i find that 3/4 cup of sugar is just enough sweetness without overpowering.

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Korean Vegetable Pancake | Vegetable Pancake

Korean Vegetable Pancake, a delicious and easy to make pancake with lots of veggies. It's one of our family favorites so i used to make this often and we love to have it as breakfast or as snacks in the evenings. 

Toddler in our house is a huge fan of this pancake.That's main reason for frequent making of this pancakes. 

These pancakes are so good on their own and don't need any side dish. However, for adults, any  spicy sauces(like sriracha ) would be a great dip for these pancakes.

Vegetables 

For this pancake, i highly recommend to use cabbage, mushrooms,capsicum, sweet potatoes and spring onions without fail. 

Cabbage is the key for this pancakes. For the total 3 cups of vegetables, i use 1 to 1 & 1/4 cups of cabbage alone. It gives a nice texture to the pancakes.

Sweet potato gives mild sweetness that makes these pancakes so delicious.

Capsicum and spring onions are mainly for the flavor. Without these, the pancakes would be less flavorful and taste so different.

Mushrooms are for umami flavor . My favorite is brown mushrooms compared to white mushrooms because of its intense flavor.

Flour 

For this recipe, you can use mix of all purpose and atta flour and it tastes equally good as made with the all purpose flour alone. However, don't increase the amount of flour. The whole purpose of using flour in this recipe is to hold the vegetables together. So add as needed only.

Ok, now let's check out how to make these delicious Korean style vegetable pancakes.

Korean Vegetable Pancake

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Pancakes | Recipe Cuisine: Korean
Korean Vegetable Pancakes, Veg Pancakes, Korean Veg Pancakes Korean Vegetable Pancake, a delicious and easy to make pancake with lots of veggies.

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

Ingredients

**Vegetables( thinly sliced) - 3 cups

All purpose flour - 3/4 cup

Salt - 1/2 tsp or to taste

Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp

Water - 3/4 cup or as needed

Oil - 2 to 3 tbsp

** I have used cabbage, mushrooms, spring onions, capsicum, sweet potatoes. 

Procedure

Cut all the vegetables into thin slices. Cabbage, mushrooms, spring onions, capsicum, sweet potatoes are the commonly used vegetables in this pancakes. Put all vegetables in a bowl and then add salt and pepper.

With your hand, mix all the vegetables well and then add the flour and water.

Mix it all well until the mixture holds together when you form a ball. Heat the oil in a thick bottomed pan.

Take a portion of mixture and place it in the pan, then gently spread it like a patty. 

Cook it on a medium flame until both sides are golden brown.

Delicious Vegetable pancakes are ready.

Related : How to make Baozi / Chinese Steamed Bun

Notes:

• Be a little generous with oil for crispy pancakes.
• You can make this as small pancakes or as one big pancakes like pizza and then cut into desired shape before serving.

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Shakarpara using leftover Gulab Jamun Syrup| Shankarpali Recipe

Shakarpara / Shankarpali, a delicious, crunchy and mildly sweetened deep-fried biscuits. It's usually made with all purpose flour/ wheat flour and sugar, but today let me show how to make this yummy treat with the leftover Gulab Jamun Syrup/ any sugar syrup.

Mostly after deepavali/diwali festival, many wonder what to make with the leftover sugar syrup from the gulab jamun. If you ever wonder like that, here is the solution for using that sugar syrup. 

Though, there are many options available to use that sugar syrup, making Shakarpara is one of the easiest and delicious options that would be ready in minutes. 

Leftover Gulab Jamun Sugar Syrup

Gulab Jamun soaked sugar syrup is thick and has wonderful flavor, so without much effort, we can make flavorful shakarpara using this syrup. 

Depending on how thick your sugar syrup is, you may need less/more  sugar syrup to make the dough. So keep this recipe as reference and add as you need.

My sugar syrup has a cardamom flavor(since i used that for flavoring in  gulab jamun) so it gives such a nice cardamom and milk flavor(from the jamun) to the shakarpara. But you can use any flavored sugar syrup, just remember that the shakarpara also would have the same flavor.

Also you can make this shankarpali using the same method for any leftover sugar syrup. 

Tips to make delicious and crunchy Shankarpali/Shakarpara

Though it's such an easy recipe, here are a few things to take care of for making delicious shankarpali.

1. Make sure the dough is stiff like the poori dough. If your dough is too soft, then it absorbs a lot of oil.
2. Cook the shankarpali in low-medium heat. If you have the number system in your stove, keep it in between 3 and 4 once the oil is heated.
3. It takes time to cook and get that golden brown, so be patient while frying. If you increase the heat, the outside turns brown easily but the inside would be raw.
4. Finally, once it's out of oil, it's soft in the middle. Let them cool completely for that crunchy bite.

That's it. Now let's check out on how to make this delicious and crunchy Shankarpali/ Shakarpara.

Shakarpara using leftover Gulab Jamun Syrup

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 mins | Serves : 6 
Recipe Category: snacks | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Shakarpara,Shankarpali,leftover jamun syrup,leftover gulab jamun syrup recipe, Shakarpara / Shankarpali, a delicious, crunchy and mildly sweetened deep-fried snack.

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

Ingredients

Wheat Flour/ Aatta -1 cup
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Leftover Gulab Jamun Sugar Syrup- 1/2 cup(approx)
Baking soda - a pinch
Oil - for frying

Procedure

First in a bowl, add the flour, baking soda and ghee, mix it all together well with your hand until the ghee is incorporated into the flour. Then add the sugar syrup as needed.

Mix it well and make a dough. The dough should be like  poori dough. Divide the dough into four equal parts.

Next roll each portion into a thick disc using a rolling pin and then cut the dough into small squares. Do the same for all the dough. Heat the oil for frying and then add the squared dough in batches.

Cook it on low-medium flame until it's golden brown. Drain the shankarpali from the oil and place it on the paper towel. Do the same for the remaining. 

Cool it completely and then store it in an air-tight container. Delicious and crunchy Shakarpara/Shankarpali is ready.

Related: How to make Traditional Shakarpara

Notes:

• No need to knead the dough for long time. Stop kneading once it all comes together.
• It stays well for upto 10 mins in room temperature.
• Use dry hands every time so that it stays crunchy.

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Chocolate Covered Strawberries, an easy to make sweet treat with just 2 ingredients. If you love chocolate and strawberries then you must try this to know how delicious they are !

To be honest, it's not a recipe, just a simple DIY treat. Even kids can make these treats on their own. But they are a few things that you should take care of ! So that' what i'm going to explain in this post.

Strawberries 

First thing first ! Let's talk about the strawberries. Make sure the strawberries are fresh, brightly colored and sweet.  

Make sure to wash and pat dry them well before melting the chocolate. Also don't trim the green part of the strawberries because that will be helpful to hold the strawberries while dipping in the melted chocolate. 

Chocolate

You can  make this with any type of chocolates like milk chocolate, semi-sweet or dark chocolate. I had tried this before with milk chocolate and i felt it was too sweet. So my personal favorite is dark chocolate. It nicely compliment the sweetness and the freshness of the strawberries.

In today's post, i have used the double boiler method to melt the chocolate but you can melt the chocolate in the microwave too.

Finally let's answer the FAQ while making this Chocolate Covered Strawberries

How do you get chocolate to stick to strawberries?

• Water and chocolate don't work together. So make sure that the strawberries are dry. After washing the strawberries, dry them well with the paper towel to absorb all the excess moisture
• Let the melted chocolate cool a bit so that it sticks to the strawberries well.

Now let's check out on how to make chocolate covered strawberries.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 5 mins | Serves : 4 
Recipe Category: Dessert | Recipe Cuisine: American
Chocolate Covered Strawberries,Valentine day Dessert, Chocolate Covered Strawberries, an easy to make sweet treat with just a 2 ingredients.

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

Ingredients

Strawberries - 1 lb

Dark Chocolate - 1 bar

Procedure

First wash the strawberries and pat them dry well. Then break the chocolate into chunks and put it in the glass bowl/stainless steel bowl. 

Fill half of the sauce pan with water and bring into boil, place the chocolate bowl on the sauce pan. Stir it now and then until the chocolate melts completely. 

Remove from the heat and then start coating the strawberries with the melted chocolate. Arrange it on the parchment lined baking tray. Let it cool completely till the chocolate sets.

Delicious chocolate covered strawberries are ready to enjoy!

Related: How to make Strawberries Sorbet

Notes:

• Chocolate Covered Strawberries tastes best when they are fresh. 
• Once the chocolate are hardened, you can store them in the refrigerator and try to finish off with a day.  

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Strawberry Jam Without Pectin | Easy Homemade Strawberry Jam

Strawberry Jam, a delicious and easy to make jam with fresh strawberries. We love strawberries and mostly have it as it is, but occasionally i make this strawberries jam especially for the kid. It's so flavorful and absolutely delicious with a piece of bread. 

Usually many commercial jams are made with pectin which is used for thickening the jam and gives that jelly-like consistency. However, in general, when i make jams at home, i don't use any pectin but still the texture is so nice and easily spreadable on bread. 

So if you would like to make jam at home in small quantities without pectin, then definitely give a try on this super easy jam recipe. 

Strawberries 

For this jam recipe, all you need is strawberries, sugar and some lemon juice. So the flavor, color and the taste of the jam  purely depends on the quality of the strawberries. 

I have tried this jam a couple of times before and i found that the freshly picked strawberries from the farms are so good for making this jam compared to the store bought strawberries. But if you're having only store bought, go ahead and make it by all means and it will still taste so good. 

Sugar

The main advantage of making jam at home is that you can adjust how much sugar you want in the jam. If you feel that the store bought jams are super sweet and hurts your teeth, then you can easily reduce the sugar quantity in this recipe.

For this recipe, the given quantity of the sugar is for moderate sweetness. However, depending on the sweetness of the strawberries, you may need less or more  sugar as i mentioned. So give a taste test when the sugar is completely melted and adjust if it needs more. Just a gentle reminder, if the strawberries are so tart then definitely it needs more sugar to balance out the taste.

Ok, now let's check out on how to make this super easy and delicious strawberry jam.

Strawberry Jam Without Pectin

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Serves : 2 
Recipe Category: Jam | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Strawberry Jam, Easy Jam recipe, Strawberry Jam without pectin Strawberry Jam, a delicious and easy to make jam with fresh strawberries and without pectin.

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

Ingredients

Strawberry - 1 lb

Sugar - 1/4 cup

Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp

Butter - 1 tbsp

Procedure

First wash the strawberries, remove the top and cut the strawberries into small pieces. Heat the sauce pan with butter. Once the butter starts to melt, add the strawberries and mix it well with the butter.

Then put the lid on and cook the strawberries till they are soft. Once they are soft, add the sugar.

Next squeeze the lemon juice into it and then mash the strawberries with a masher.

Then put on the lid again and cook the mixture till they are glossy and thick. Switch off the flame and let it cool it completely and then put it on air tight container.

Delicious Strawberry Jam is ready !

Related:How to make Strawberry Pancakes with Strawberry Sauce

Notes:

• I like a few chunks of strawberries in my jam, so mashed it gently.
• Keep it refrigerated for longer use.
• Switch off the flame when the jam is slightly runny so that it comes to perfect consistency when it's cooled down.

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