Friday, December 30, 2016

Semiya Payasam | Vermicelli Kheer | Desserts | Video recipe

Semiya Payasam , an easy and quick dessert that we make on almost all of the auspicious occasion in our home. Today i'm sharing this sweet recipe with you all to celebrate the 300th post of my blog and to make it's so special,i have made the recipe video too.This is my best video recipe and it's really fun to shoot the video and have learned a lot in shooting & editing the video.Without further let's move on to the recipe now.
Happy New Year to all

Semiya Payasam | Vermicelli Kheer

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 20 minsServes : 2 or 3  
Recipe Category: Desserts | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients
Semiya/Vermicelli - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp
Milk(Boiled and cooled) - 3/4 to 1 cup
Cardamom - 2
Ghee - 2 tsp
Cashews - 6
Water - 1 cup




Procedure
Heat a pan with 1 tsp of ghee,let it melt and add the broken cashews into it.
Roast the cashews till it becomes golden brown, remove it on the plate. In the same pan, add the remaining 1 tsp of ghee  and let it melt.Add the semiya and roast till it becomes brown here and there.Keep it aside.Heat a sauce pan with water.Bring to rolling boil and then add the roasted semiya and stir it well to avoid sticking at the bottom.Let it boil and then keep the flame in medium and cook till the semiya becomes soft.Then add the sugar.Followed by crushed cardamom and let it cook till the sugar completely dissolved.Add the milk and bring to boil,keep it in the flame for 3-4 mins and then finally add the roasted cashews and switch off the flame.Tasty & creamy Semiya Payasam is ready to serve.Notes:


  • For rich version, instead of using water , you can use milk to cook the semiya.
  • I personally like the freshly crushed cardamom than the powder for wonderful aroma.But you can use the powered cardamom too.
  • While cooking the semiya, stir in between constantly to avoid sticking at the bottom.
  • I used MTR semiya here,but amma always use anil brand variety,it blends well with the payasam than the MTR variety.
  • I used 3/4 cup of milk here, you can increase or decrease the amount of milk as per your preferred consistency.
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Thursday, December 29, 2016

Guacamole | Home made Guacamole | Avocado Dip

Guacamole/Avocada Dip is the famous mexican dip served along with some tortilla chips.During our initial days in US, i had brought the avocado especially to try the guacamole,but i didnt like the homemade guacamole and it was not at all taste like restaurant ones. Later i realized that i don't know how to choose the ripe avocado and i got this tip from one of cooking tv shows,i.e you have to choose the firm and slightly green avocado from the store and let it sit in kitchen counter for 2- 3 days,by the time it turns into completely dark color.That's the right stage to use the avocado for guacamole.If avocado is new to your cooking like me,this tip will definitely help.

Home made Guacamole

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 0 minsServes :
Recipe Category: Dips | Recipe Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
Avocado(ripe) - 2
Onion(chopped) - 2 tbsp
Coriander leaves(chopped) - 2 tbsp
Jalapeno - 1
Lemon - 1
Salt - to taste  

Procedure
First finely chop the onions,coriander leaves & jalapeno into small pieces and keep it ready.Cut the avocado into two, remove the seed and scoop out the flesh into the bowl.Mash the avocado into smooth paste with fork,immediately squeeze the lemon juice into it.Then add the onions,coriander leaves & jalapeno into the avocado along with required salt and give a good mix.That's it, Tasty Avocado Dip/Guacamole is ready to serve.
Notes:
  • You can use any types of onions you like,here i used red onions.
  • If you like, you can add some chopped tomatoes.
  • Depends on the spice you want, adjust the jalapeno.
  • Once you mashed the avocado,immediately squeeze the lemon juice and mix it thoroughly,it prevents the color change of avocado.


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Monday, December 26, 2016

Vazhaipoo Usili | Banana Flower Usili

Vazhaipoo Usili, an accompaniment for rice made with banana flower and chana dal.As the vazhaipoo sits idle in the refrigerator for a week, i thought of making some thing new this time other than poriyal,vadai or kola urundai and searched for a recipe, then i came to know that usili can be prepared with vazhaipoo too.So immediately give it a try and it tastes so good.
To see other vazhaipoo recipe,click the below images.


Vazhaipoo Usili

Preparation Time : 1 hr | Cooking Time : 20 minsServes :
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients
Banana flower - 1 cup (chopped)
Buttermilk - 1/2 cup
Chana dal - 2 tbsp
Red chili - 1
Oil - 1 tsp + 1 tsp
Mustard & urad dal - 1/4 tsp
Onion -1/2
Curry leaves - few
Salt - to taste

Procedure
First clean the vazhaipoo and cut into small pieces and soak it in buttermilk. For cleaning vazhaipoo check here and here. Soak the chana dal for 1/2 hr and then cut the onions into small pieces.Heat the pan with 1 tsp of oil.Add the soaked chana dal, red chili & salt(just enough for the dal) into mixie jar and grind into smooth paste(if needed add water.) and add it in pan.Saute the dal till it gets cooked well(as the dal starts to stick to the pan,so i transfer into non stick kadai),once the dal is cooked, it looks like crumble, at this stage,transfer to another plate, in the same kadai, heat the remaining oil ,add mustard & urad dal, let the mustard splutter.Then add the onions & curry leaves, saute till the onions becomes translucent,then squeeze the banana flower from butter milk and add it in the pan along with salt.Cover the pan with lid and cook the banana flower till it becomes soft and all the moisture evaporates, then add the cooked dal and mix well. That's it, Tasty Vazhaipoo Usili is ready.We had it with Vedakkai Puli Kuzhambu & Chow Chow Kootu
Notes:
  • Instead of sauteing the dal, you can steam cook the dal too.
  • After chopped the banana flower, put it in butter milk immediately,it helps to avoid coloring.

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Thursday, December 22, 2016

Eggless Fruits & Nuts Cake | Eggless Christmas Cake | Christmas Recipe

Christmas Fruits and Nuts cake, after the biryani, christmas cake comes to my mind when i think of christmas. In my childhood, we brought this christmas cake/plum cake from the nearby shop(sugi sweet stall) in our area.It was not a whole cake, they sliced them as pieces  like the commercial modern cake that are available in stores nowadays and wrapped it in the butter paper and placed it in the big tray, i was once a big fan of this cake,whenever i went out with my mom for shopping groceries or vegetables in the evening(Yep,that cake was available only after 4pm and almost it was over by the time 7PM), i pestered her to buy this and it was only 2 rupees then. Don't know whether that sweet stall still making that kind of cake. 
Now coming to today's recipe, i have tried christmas cake twice before and it didn't turned out as expected. Last weekend when i was searching again for christmas cake recipe, found this recipe in joyofbaking, i tried few recipes from her website and it turned absolutely delicious,so without hesitation,make notes of the recipe and i changed few things to our preference and tried it. It was so moist & delicious and i personally like her idea of using loaf pan to bake,so you can slice and wrap them in butter paper for single serving and it reminds me of childhood memories.It's eggless and ready to make cake,no need of soaking,give it a try and let me know how it turns out for you. 

Eggless Christmas Cake

Preparation Time : 20 mins | Cooking Time : 1 hr Makes :
Recipe Category: Cake | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients
All purpose flour - 1 1/2 cup
Dried fruits & nuts - 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups
Light brown sugar - 3/4 cups
Butter - 1/2 cup
Butter milk - 1 cup
Vanilla Extract - 1/2 tsp
Baking soda - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon - 1/2 tsp
Ginger powder - 1/4 tsp

Procedure
Take the flour in a large bowl,then add the baking soda,cinnamon & ginger powder and salt in a sieve and sieve it on the flour. Mix it well with the flour and keep aside, now chop the dry fruits and nuts roughly into small pieces (i used black raisins,dates,almond,cashew and walnut) and add into the flour. Mix well such that all the nuts and dried fruits coated well with the flour.  Melt the butter and let it comes to room temperature and then add  the sugar into it.Then add the butter milk and vanilla extract and whisk it well till the sugar dissolves.Add this sugar mixture into the flour and mix it gently. Take the loaf pan, butter it well and dust it with all purpose flour.Transfer the cake mix into the loaf pan and bake it in the preheated oven of 350F for 55 to 60 mins. Remove it from the oven when tooth pick inserted into the center comes out clean.Mine got ready in 60 mins.Let it cool completely on wire rack before slicing.Delicious Fruits and Nuts cake is ready.
Notes:
  • Add more dry fruits compared to nuts,it will help to keep the cake moist.
  • You can use any dry fruits and nuts as per your liking.
  • The original recipe calls for 1/4 tsp of cloves and nutmeg powder, but i feel that are overpowering,so skip it, but you can add if you like more spices in your cake.
  • Dont cut the cake when it's warm, there is a chance of crumbling, so let it cool completely on wire rack.
  • If you're worried about the cake sticking at the bottom, you can use parchement paper on the bottom,but mine cake out clean from the pan.



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Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Masala Pori | Masala Murmura | Masala Puffed Rice

Masala Pori, a quick fix for evening snack can be prepared within 5 mins.As i mentioned in my "pori unrundai" post, in recent times, i have been making this masala pori a lot for our evening tea on weekends.It's very easy to make and completely gluten free snack  and also i found it as great alternative to pop corn to munch on while watching tv without any guilt of having more.
Now let's see how to make this delicious snack.

Masala Pori

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 05 minsServes :
Recipe Category: Snacks | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients
Pori/Puffed Rice/Murmura - 11/2 cup
Roasted chana dal - 3 tbsp
Peanut - 2 tbsp
Garlic - 1 crushed
Curry leaves - few
Turmeric powder - 1/8 tsp
Red chili powder - 1/8 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 1tbsp

Procedure
Keep all the ingredients ready.Heat oil in a pan, add the roasted chana dal & peanut and roast till it slightly changes its color.
Then add the crushed garlic and curry leaves, saute till the garlic becomes fragrant,then keep the flame in low and add the turmeric ,red chili powder & salt. Mix it well.
Add pori and give a good mix till all the masala coats well with the pori. Switch off the flame.
That's crispy and tasty Masala pori is ready.(A quick reel on how to make masala pori)

Related : How to make Pori Urundai 

Notes:
  • As per your preference, you can add more or less roasted chana dal & peanuts.
  • If you wish, you can add 2 tsp of cashews too.
  • Adjust the spices as per your taste. Instead of red chili powder, you can add pepper powder too.




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Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Dates Maamoul | Maamoul | Dates Cookie | No Sugar Cookies

Dates Maamoul ,a short bread kind of pastry filled with dates mixture. It's quite famous in middle eastern countries. Few weeks before, i borrowed a book named as "Middle Eastern Basics" from our local library. This book have very detailed explanation for some of the basic recipes of middle eastern countries and i came to know about this cookies from that book and i liked it so much because it's a no-sugar cookie expect the sugar for dusting,that too optional.
And i have all the ingredients in hand,so immediately i tried and it turned out so yummy.Buttery crust with dates on every bite is purely divine.Though this cookies are not authentic christmas cookies, it will be a great gifts to your friends and families during this holiday season and also it will be ideal for those who counts on their sugar intake.

Dates Maamoul

Preparation Time : 15 mins | Cooking Time : 25 minsMakes : 10 
Recipe Category: Cookies | Recipe Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Ingredients
Dates(pitted) - 20
All purpose flour - 1 cup
Butter - 1/3 cup + 2 tsp
Vanilla essence - 1/4 tsp
Salt - a pinch
Milk - as needed
Powdered sugar for dusting(optional).

Procedure
First let's make the inner stuffing, take the dates and cut into small pieces, heat 2 tsp of butter in a sauce pan.Once the butter is all melted, add the chopped dates and cook it on low flame till it becomes mushy and turns into single mass.Switch off the flame and let it cool.Now for the outer layer, take the flour in a bowl, add the salt, 1/3 cups of butter & vanilla extract, mix it well with flour till it looks like a crumb. Now add milk little by little to form a dough. The dough should be easily pliable. Divide the dough into 10 equal parts.Similarly divide the dates mixture into 10 equal parts. Take a dough and spread it with your fingers like a small disc,place the dates ball into the dough.Seal the edges together well and keep the sealed edges downside and roll into round shape using your palm, do the same for the remaining dough and dates mixture and place it in the baking tray.Take a fork and press it on the cookie to give nice impression and bake it in the preheated oven at 300F for 20 to 25 mins. Remove from the oven and cool it in the wire rack completely before serving.That's it. Tasty Dates Maamoul cookie is ready.

Notes:

  • These cookies must not brown,so after 20 to 25 mins, tap the surface of the cookie,it should resist the pressure slightly. if it's too soft then cook it for  few more mins and check again. 
  • Butter should be at room temperature.
  • You can omit the salt to the dough if you're using salted butter.
  • The original recipe calls for Orange blossom water, as i dont have i used vanilla extract.
  • As i pressed very lightly with fork on the cookies, the impression is not visible once it's baked,so press it firmly if you want nice impression on the top.


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