Thursday, May 31, 2018

Roundup for One Vegetable Different Ways

This is the first time that i'm doing roundup for the BM theme. As usual, this month BM also has some interesting themes and one among them is "One Vegetable Different Ways". The concept is you have to choose one vegetable as main ingredient and cook it in three ways. Really i liked the concept and had chosen "Broccoli" as main ingredients and cooked three dishes. Like me, my fellow bloggers also had chosen the different veggies and came up with some interesting recipes. Here is the compilation of all the dishes that we have shared for this theme.


Here are mine - Broccoli in three ways

Broccoli Soup
Broccoli ParathaBroccoli Stir fry

Harini - Cauliflower in three ways

Cauliflower Mac n Cheese
Microwave Cauliflower RiceAir fryer roasted Cauliflower

Srivalli - Potatoes in three ways

Dum Aloo
Rajasthani Jodhpuri AlooStuffed Potato Masala

Vaishali - Spinach in three ways

Palakchi Patal Bhaji(Maharastra)
Palak Ka Saag(Bihar)Palak Paneer Bhurji

Priya - Onion in three ways

Onion Roti
Onion RasamOnion Capsicum Chutney

Varadha - Red Bell Pepper in three ways

Red Pepper Hummus
Skewered Pepper & PaneerPepper and paneer in tomatoes

Sowmya - Carrot in three ways

Carrot Sandwich
Oven Roasted Carrot SoupHoney Glazed Carrots
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Friday, May 25, 2018

Mishti Doi | Bengali Sweetened Yogurt | Bengali Sweet

Mishti Doi, a Bengali sweet delicacy of sweetened yogurt. Ever since I read about the mishti doi from the article series of "Rushial" written by writer Para(P.Raghavan) in his blog, I wanted to make them so bad. 

In that article, he wrote about his experience of buying the mishti doi at bengal street around midnight and had it along with naga jolokia(hottest chili grown somewhere near Assam) pickle. The whole experience was narrated in a hilariously manner, if you can read tamil, check out here and here about his experience.
Traditionally the mishi doi is prepared with palm jaggery/palm candy crystals instead of sugar. In para's blog, he mentioned that palm candy crystals(panam karkandu) are used in the mishti doi.  In many other blogs it says that palm jaggery(karuppati) is used for making mishti doi but in the pictures it looks like palm candy crystals. 
So i got confused which one to use, but went with palm sugar crystals, since usually palm jaggery has lot of impurities and always i prefer to make syrup with that and filter it once before use, here in mishti doi, i don't want to dilute the milk with jaggery syrup, thicker the milk, creamier the mishti doi would be.
After we moved to MI, it's really hard for me to get back to blogging, even though our things arrived two weeks before, for the past 10 days each day I told myself all the lame excuses for not doing anything! 
The past two days posts were from the drafts, so for today's post i have to cook something, that's when this mishti doi came to my mind, so two days back i made this mishti doi, glad i tried it, it was so creamy and tasty, even before taking the pictures, the one bowl of mishti doi was gone, now you knew how delicious it is.

Mishti Doi

Preparation Time : 1 day | Cooking Time : 15 minsServes :
Recipe Category: Sweet | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Mishti Doi, Bengali Sweet, Sweet Curd, Bengali Sweet Yogurt, Indian Sweet Yogurt Mishti Doi, a Bengali sweet delicacy of sweetened yogurt.
Ingredients
Milk - 3 cup
Palm Jaggery - 1/2 cup
Cardamom Powder - 1/8 tsp
Curd - 1 tbsp

Procedure
Add the milk in the wide kadai and let it bring to boil, then simmer the milk until it reduces to 2 cups.
In between scrap the sides of the kadai and add it into the boiling milk and also stir frequently to avoid burning at the bottom. Once the milk is reduced to almost 2 cups, switch off the flame.
Immediately add the palm jaggery and mix it well with the milk, the residual heat from the milk is enough to dissolve the sugar completely.
Then add the cardamom powder, mix it well and transfer to the another bowl(it helps to cool down the milk quickly). Take the curd in a small bowl and whisk it smooth without any lumps.
Once the milk comes to warm temperature(if you dip your finger in the milk, it should be comfortably warm neither too hot nor too cold) add the curd and mix it well. Pour it into the individual earthern pot/terracotta bowl or even you can set it in the same bowl. Keep it in the kitchen counter until it sets. Unlike regular curd, it takes really long time to set. Mine takes approximately 24hrs to set.
Once it sets, cover it with cling wrap and let it refrigerate for at least 4 hrs. Tasty and creamy Mishti Doi is ready.

Related : How to make Begali Rasgulla 

Notes:
  • If you want mild sweetness, than just add 1/3 cup of palm jaggery only.
  • As i said earlier, it takes long time to set. Approximately 24-28 hrs when the room temperature is around 75 F.
  • Earthern pot works great for this mishti doi to set. Since the porous nature of the pot absorbs all the liquid (if any left) and gives you super creamy mishti doi.
  • For photo sake, i have added few saffrons on top, but that's not required.
     



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Thursday, May 24, 2018

Rajasthani Bajra Khichdi | Kambu Khichadi | Khichdi Recipe

Rajasthani Bajra Khichdi, a healthy one pot meal made from the pearl millet and whole green moong dal. I had some pearl millet in my pantry untouched for long time which i was brought from India , usually i make kambu dosa with it. But the left over pearl quantity was not enough to make dosa, i was searching for some easy recipe with pearl millet, that's when this khichdi recipe caught my attention. It's such a healthy meal, instantly i made a note of recipe and tried it within the next few days. The khichdi turned out so creamy and delicious.
Bajra is very popular in North India especially Gujarat and Rajasthan, since it's known for generating heat in our body, this kind of khichdis are often prepared during winter season. Healthy meal also keep us warm, interesting right?? There are different variation in the making of this khichdi, even in some recipe they have used 1/2 of bajra and 1/2 of rice, but i have followed the recipe from Sanjeev kapoor where rice was not used. Also if you want to add any veggies, go head & add, make it as even more healthy & delicious !!! 

Rajasthani Bajra Khichdi

Preparation Time : 4 hrs | Cooking Time : 25 minsServes :
Recipe Category: Millet | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients
Bajra - 1/2 cup
Whole moong dal - 1/4 cup
Water - 2 cup
Cumin seed - 1 tsp
Green chili - 1 
Ginger - 1 tsp(chopped)
Asafoetida powder - 1/4 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
Ghee - 1 tsp + more for drizzling.

Procedure
Measure bajra and moong dal and add each into separate bowl. Wash it twice and soak it in the water for 4 hrs.After 4 hrs, drain the water from the bajra and add into the mixie jar and pulse it twice or thrice and keep it aside until use.Heat the ghee in a pressure cooker, add the cumin seed, let it crackle,then add the ginger and green chili saute it for 2 mins. Then add the bajra and saute it in ghee for 2 mins and then add the soaked moong dal(discard the soaked water) and saute it for 2 more mins.Add the water, turmeric powder and salt.Finally add the asafoetida powder , mix it well and cover the pressure cooker with lid and put on whistle and cook it for 5 whistles.Once the pressure released from the pressure cooker automatically, open the lid and mix it well with ladle. Drizzle some more ghee on the top and it's ready to serve.Tasty & healthy Bajra Khichdi is ready.

Notes:

  • Soak bajra for minimum 4 hrs, it helps to cook the bajra easily.
  • No need to grind the bajra finely, just pulse it twice or thrice is enough.
  • Instead of whole green moong dal, you can use the  yellow moong dal too.
  • Add more or less green chili as per the spice level you want.
BMLogo 
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM#88
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Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Punugulu with idly or dosa batter | Andhra punugulu recipe | Tea Time Snack

Punugulu, a delicious snack made with the idli/dosa batter and also it's one of the common street foods in the coastal region of the state, Andhra. 

It is made from the leftover or fresh idli/dosa batter. This is one of my favorite tea time snacks and often prepared over weekend chai time. It's so addictive and seriously can't stop eating whenever I make it, so nowadays, I prepare only a small quantity to avoid too much gulping :-)  
It was so delicious, crispy on the outside and soft inside, more like our vadai but with slight differences in taste & texture. It's a perfect tea time snack and if you have thick dosa batter at home, it can be prepared in minutes.

Adding rava gives the crispy texture to the punugulu, but at the same time, don't tempt to add more, it makes the punugulu hard on the outside. Now let's check out the recipe.





Punugulu

Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 15 minsServes :
Recipe Category: Snacks/Street Food | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Punugulu, Tea time snacks, Punugulu with dosa batter, punugulu with idli batter Punugulu, a famous snack from Andhra and also the most common street food in the coastal region of the state, Andhra.
Ingredients
Idli/Dosa Batter - 1 cup
Rava - 1 tbsp
Rice flour - 1 & 1/2 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Onion - 1/4 cup(finely chopped)
Green chili - 1 (finely chopped)
Baking soda - a pinch
Curry leave - few
Oil - for deep frying.
* if you're making this for the first time, check out the notes at the end 

Procedure
Take the dosa batter(the batter should be thick, you can't make this with thin batter) in a bowl, add rava,rice flour, baking soda, salt,onion & curry leaves, mix it well.
Heat the oil for deep frying, before taking the batter with the hands, dip your hands in a bowl of water.
And then take the batter and add into the hot flame, cook it in medium flame.
With a min, the punugulu floats on top, gently flip them on other side and cook till it becomes golden brown on all sides,remove from the oil and place it on tissue paper.
Serve it with chutney & hot tea.

Related : How to make Coconut Chutney

Notes:
  • The batter should be thick, otherwise it absorbs a lot of oil.
  • After add the all ingredients, still the batter is not thick, add a extra tbsp of rice flour.
  • Green chili is optional, you can skip that too.
  • Baking soda helps to give the soft inside.
  • Rava gives more crispiness to the punugulu.

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