Friday, October 25, 2019

Kasi Halwa | Vella Poosanikai Halwa | Sweet Recipe

Kasi Halwa, a delicious and easy to make sweet with white pumpkin. As diwali is just around the corner, guess all would be busy planning and making sweets and snacks. 

If you're busy and will not be able to make any elaborate sweet, this kasi halwa will save your day. It's such a simple recipe and taste heavenly delicious. I have been making this halwa for a while now and it turned out mouthwatering delicious every single time.

 Here in today's recipe, i have grated the white pumpkin using large holes, so the halwa has some texture and you can feel that bits of white pumpkin when eating. But if you don't like that, grate it with small holes, that will give you silky smooth halwa without the traces of pumpkin.

For this halwa, there is no need to check for sugar syrup consistency or constant stirring like other halwa recipe, even beginners can try this halwa without much difficulties and succeed in first attempt itself. 

Only few things to consider while making this halwa, first,  depends on the texture of ash gourd/ white pumpkin, it takes more or less time to cook, so make sure that the pumpkin is well cooked before adding sugar into it. 

Second, this halwa tends to thicken with time, so make sure to switch off the flame when the halwa is slightly goey.  
Though i didn't share much recipes for this deepavali, you can check out my collection of diwali recipe from the past here. It has wide varieties of sweet and snacks that will help to sort out your diwali recipes. 

Happy diwali to all those who celebrate and for others have a great holiday. Now let's check out on how to make this delicious halwa.

Kasi Halwa | Vella Poosanikai Halwa

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 minsServes :
Recipe Category: Sweet | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Kasi Halwa,Vella Poosanikai Halwa,Pumpkin Halwa,Halwa recipe,sweet, deepavali Sweet Kasi Halwa, a delicious and easy to make sweet with white pumpkin and sugar.
Ingredients
Vella Poosanikai/White pumpkin(grated) - 1 & 1/2 cup(tightly packed)
Sugar - 1/2 to 2/3 cup
Cardamon - 2 
Ghee - 1/4 cup
Cashews - 4
Food color(yellow) - few drops

Procedure
First cut the pumpkin and remove the seeds and peel the skin.
Grate it using the grater and put it in the strainer and squeeze the pumpkin to remove the liquid from it. 
Heat a tsp of ghee in a pan,add the cashews, roast till they are golden brown and keep it aside.
In the same pan, add the grated pumpkin and saute it in ghee for a few mins, if needed add little water and cover cook them till they are soft.
Next add the sugar and give a good mix, the mixture will be watery again, cook till it became a thick mass.
Add the food color and mix it well and then start adding the ghee little by little.
Finally add the cardamon powder and cashews, mix it well. Switch off the flame when the ghee starts to ooze out. 
Tada, Yummy Kasi Halwa is ready.

Related : How to make Sweet Potato Halwa


Notes:
  • Depends on the texture of pumpkin, the sugar quantity varies, firm pumpkin need more sugar than the soft pumpkin.
  • You can use larger or smaller holes in the grater as per your liking. 
  • You may not need all ghee, add a tbsp of ghee at a time, when the halwa starts to ooze out the ghee, stop adding further.


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Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Garlic Kara Sev | Sattur Kara Sev | Kara Sev Recipe

Garlic Kara Sev, a delicious savory snack made from gram flour and flavored with garlic. Long time ago, I had seen this Sattur kara sev recipe on a TV cooking show and immediately  made a note on this recipe in my drafts. 

Sattur is a small town in South tamilnadu and it's famous for its sev, kadalai mittai & inji marapa, often seen that the vendors selling them in the train when we cross sattur. But never bought any from those vendors so far. 

Though I make kara sev often at home as our snack for tea time, never tried to flavor it with garlic. Few weeks back, I tried this garlic sev  as a snack for evening tea.

It was so good and flavorful. Making this sev is  so similar to regular sev. Adding garlic truly elevates the taste and flavor in abundance. Feel like the flavor intensifies with the time, the flavor was so intense on the next day than the day that it was made.

Tips to get crunchy garlic kara sev

  • Make sure to cook on medium flame so that it became crunchy without getting dark in color 
  • Don't reduce the amount of amount in the recipe
  • Finally store it in airtight container for keeping it crunchy for weeks

Related : How to make Butter murkku


Garlic Kara Sev | Sattur Kara Sev

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 minsServes : 2 cups 
Recipe Category: Snacks | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Deepavali, diwali recipes, Evening Snacks, Garlic, gram flour, Kara Sev, Rice Flour, Sattur, Snacks, TamilNadu Special, Garlic Kara Sev, a delicious savory snack made from gram flour and flavored with garlic.
Ingredients
Chickpea flour/ Besan - 1 & 1/2 cup
Rice flour - 1 cup
Cumin seed - 1 &1/2 tsp
Butter - 1 tbsp
Garlic - 5 pods
Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida Powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil for frying

Procedure
First peel the garlic, put it in a mixie jar and grind into paste, then add 2 tbsp of water and pulse it once and keep aside until use.
In a large bowl, add the besan, rice flour, asafoetida powder and salt.
Next add the red chili powder and cumin seed and mix it all together well.
Then add the garlic puree, melted butter and mix it well together. Add water slowly and make a soft dough.
Use the three hole disc in the murukku press and fill it with the karasev dough and close it.
Heat the oil for frying, check the oil temperature by dropping a small piece of dough, it should come up immediately. that's the correct temperature for frying karasev. Squeeze the dough into the oil.
Squeeze the dough as concentric circles in the pan and let it fry for few mins. Gently flip it over the other sides and cook till it became golden brown and also the "shh" sound stops.
Drain from the oil and place it on tissue paper. Once it comes to room temperature, breaks into 1 or 2 inch pieces as you like.
Tada, tasty and flavorful Sattur Karasev is ready.

Related : How to make Kadala mittai

Notes:
  • Don't over crowd the pan, squeeze the dough till the pan holds.
  • In the same recipe, you can reduce the chili powder and add crushed pepper corns too.
  • It's super crunchy and delicious with wonderful garlic flavor.
  • The dough should be soft and pilable. 


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Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Veg Palak for Roti & Chapati | Spinach Curry with Vegetables

Vegetable Palak, a delicious and healthy curry made from the spinach puree and vegetables. This curry is so similar to Palak Paneer, instead of paneer, here vegetables are used and it tastes great with roti, chapathi and pulao. 

In today's recipe, i have used mixed vegetables, but you can make this with one/two vegetables too. Potato and/or peas combination tastes well with this curry. Often i make these curry with those combinations. If you haven't tried this curry before, do give it a try, it's absolutely delicious and way more healthier than the other curries. Now let's check out on how i have prepared this yummy curry.    



Veg Palak for Roti & Chapati

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 20 minsServes : 3 to 4 
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Veg Palak, Palak Curry, Spinach Curry, Vegetable Curry,Side dish for roti & Chapati Veg Palak, a delicious and healthy curry made from the spinach puree and vegetables. This curry is so similar to Palak Paneer, instead of paneer, here vegetables are used and it tastes great with roti, chapathi and pulao.
Ingredients
Spinach - 2 cup
Onion(small) -1
Tomato(small) - 1 
Mix veg* - 1 cup
Garlic - 2 +2 cloves
Ginger  - 1/2 inch piece
Oil - 1 tbsp
Cinnamon - 1 inch piece
Cloves - 4 
Cardamon -1 
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Red chili powder - 1/2 to 3/4 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Dried kasthuri methi - 1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves - few
Cream - 1 tbsp
* I have used potato,carrot,mushroom,peas,capsicum & cauliflower

Procedure
First let's blanch the spinach, bring the water to boil in a sauce pan, add 1/2 tsp of salt & sugar.Add the spinach, let it in boiling water 30 -40 secs, remove from the heat immediately.And run it under cold water for few mins to stop further cooking instantly & keep it aside. Cut all the veggies into small pieces. Heat the oil in a sauce pan, add cinnamon, cloves and cardamon into it and fry for 30 secs.Then add the onions and garlic(2 finely chopped), saute till it became translucent, then add the veggies. Next add the spices(turmeric,red chili,coriander and garam masala powder ) and salt(just enough for veggies) in to the veggies. Mix it together well and then add 1/2 cup of water.Cover the pan with lid and let the veggies cook. In the mean , put the spinach, tomato, ginger and the remaining garlic into the mixie/blender jar and grind into smooth paste.Once the veggies are cooked, add the spinach puree. Give a good mix.
Then add a tsp of sugar and salt to taste. Let it simmer for few mins.Finally add the crushed kasthuri methi & cream, (I have used dried peas, so precooked them in pressure cooker already and add them now). mix it well and switch off the flame.Tasty and creamy Veg Palak is ready. 
Notes:

  • Adding sugar into spinach while blanching helps to retain the color.
  • Cream gives richness to the curry
  • Even without cream also, it tastes good.
  • Add more or less of veggie as per your liking.
  • Instead of oil, butter can also be used for more richness.
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Friday, October 11, 2019

Homemade Pumpkin Bread | Pumpkin Bread

Homemade Pumpkin Bread, a delicious, soft and quick to make bread with wonderful flavor. I had tasted pumpkin/banana bread from the cafe often and really liked it much. 

Though i had baked banana bread at home often, recently only i started to bake this delicious pumpkin bread. It's a instant hit at home. They are super soft and mildly sweet, tastes best with cup of coffee/ tea. In the given recipe, you can increase the sugar quantity up to 1 cup for more sweet.   

Here in today's recipe, you can use home made / store bought pumpkin puree. If you're using store bought pumpkin puree, it's quite thick than the home made, so if needed add couple of tbsp of milk to get the correct consistency of batter. 

Serve this bread after couple of hours of baking, that's when the flavor get intensified and tastes best. The leftovers can be stored in refrigerator/freezer for later use. Microwave it for 20-30 secs and it tastes as good as fresh. 

Pumpkin Bread

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 1 hr | Makes : 2 small loaf 
Recipe Category: Bread | Recipe Cuisine: International
Pumpkin Bread, Bread, Pumpkin Puree,Baking Homemade Pumpkin Bread, a delicious, soft and quick to make bread with wonderful flavor.
Ingredients
All purpose flour - 1 cup
Pumpkin Puree - 1 cup
Sugar - 3/4 cup
Egg - 1 
Butter - 1/3 cup
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Cinnamon powder -1/2 tsp
Cloves powder - 1/2 tsp
Nutmeg powder - 1/2 tsp
Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp

Procedure
First take the butter in a bowl, whisk it well and then add the sugar.
Mix it with butter well and then crack open a egg and mix it until it's creamy. 
Next add the pumpkin puree and give a good mix and then add the flour.
And all the spices ( cinnamon, cloves & nutmeg), baking soda and salt. Mix it all together.
Preheat the oven at 325 F and then grease the baking tin with butter and dust it with flour, keep it ready. Transfer the batter into baking tin and bake it for 50-60 mins or until the tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let the pumpkin bread to cool and then cut into thin slices.
Delicious pumpkin bread is ready.

Related:How to make Chocolate Banana Bread



Notes:
  • Instead of all this spices, you can use 2 tsp of pumpkin mix.
  • Don't over bake the bread, otherwise it became very dry
  • If your batter is too thick, add couple of tbsp of milk. 


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