PHIRNI RECIPE – MILK PUDDING USING RICE FLOUR

PHIRNI, a famous North Indian dessert is usually made with rice soaked & grind to a smooth paste. For a change I tried with rice flour suggested by MB in her cookbook. Its very easy to make and tasted great . Its a very good replacement for Payasam.

Usually Phirni looks thick. I made it little thin as per our taste. Please make it as you like. I have updated this recipe as per the suggestions given by an anonymous reader. If you want to make badam phirni, soak few badams in water , blanch & chop them finely. Add the chopped badam at the end after switching off the flame. I used badam just to garnish.

INGREDIENTS :

• Milk – 1/2 litre ( around 2 cups )
• Rice flour – 3/4 tbsp
• Sugar – 1/2 cup
• Cardamom powder – 1/4 tsp
• Cashewnuts , pista & badam – Few (finely chopped)
• Rose water  or kewara - 1/2 tsp (for additional flavor , I dint use)

METHOD :

• Mix rice flour in 1/2 cup of milk and without forming any lumps.
• Heat rest of the milk in a heavy vessel.
• When it starts to boil, add the rice flour paste and cook stirring constantly.
• It takes nearly 15-20 minutes to thicken. Keep the flame medium low - high to avoid spilling. Stir now & then..
• When the milk becomes thick add sugar & switch off the flame..
• Stir well till the sugar dissolves completely. Check for sweetness .
• Mix cardamom powder , rose water & chill in refrigerator (* Do not freeze )

Serve in small cups with fried nuts on top !!
NOTES :

• I made it slightly thin. Add milk if you want more diluted. Adjust sugar accordingly.
• Thickening time of milk may vary according to the heat. 
• U can add saffron soaked in warm milk instead of cardamom powder & name it as “ kesar phirni “. 
• We can use fine chiroti rawa for thickening of milk instead of rice flour.

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GOOSEBERRY PICKLE/ NELLIKAI OORGAI

Though i have posted some pickles from my MIL’s hand , I feel this post is somewhat special as i made it on my own using less oil for first time.The result was completely satisfactory.Click here to see another healthy , quick side dish  for rice using gooseberry if u r interested..

INGREDIENTS

Big gooseberry  - 12 nos Red chillies – 8 –10 nos (Long variety , adjust ) Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp Asafetida / hing – 1/4 tsp To dry roast Methi seeds – 1 tsp Cooking oil – 1.5 tbsp Mustard seeds –1 tsp Urad dal – 1/2 tsp To temper Sesame oil – 1 tbsp

METHOD

• Dry roast methi seeds in a kadai till it turns brown with a nice aroma.Powder it along with asafetida and turmeric powder.Set aside.
• Grind the red chillies to a coarse powder. Keep aside.
• In a pressure cooker or in an idly pot ,steam cook the whole big gooseberries without adding water.After it cools down ,cut the gooseberry into bite sized pieces .( It will come off easily when u press it with ur fingers.)
• Then in a wide mouthed kadai add a tbsp of oil and temper the items given above.Add the gooseberry pieces and the coarse red chilly powder.
• Mix well for few minutes till raw smell disappears.Add the salt and toss well.
• After sometime , add the ground methi seeds mixture and mix well .
• Make sure everything gets combined well.
• Keep in medium flame for 2-3 minutes .Finally add the sesame oil , mix well.
• Switch off the flame. Let the pickle cool down .
• Transfer it to an air tight container.
• Tastes best the next day !!

Enjoy with curd rice !!

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Introducing BigRock.com – A venture from Directi to tap Indian SMEs

 Directi , an internet domain registrar and web hosting company in India has introduced new venture 'BigRock.com'. Directi also has Logicboxes.com, ResellerClub.com, WebHosting.Info and Skenzo under its wings.

Through BigRock.com, domain names will be easily available and registration can be done in less time and also the website design will be done at affordable rates.

Most Indian small businesses find establishing  web presence a daunting task, due to three main deterrents - price, low tech know-how and poor awareness of the benefits of taking their business online. At BigRock, they aim to address this need in an easy, affordable and reliable way.
BigRock.com provides domain names such as .in and co.in at Rs 99 for first year of registration and .com and .net for Rs 499. The firm is planning to offer services to half a million SMEs, entrepreneurs and individual business to help them grow.
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In 2011, their goal is to help 500,000 Indian SMEs and professionals, get their businesses online. To achieve this, they are launching communication through various media, including TV - which is a first for any company in this industry, in the country.
Checkout some of these funny Ads from BigRock in case u missed watching in TV ;)

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KAIMA IDLI – SARAVANA BHAVAN STYLE

When i was searching for recipes using left over idlies , i came across this kaima idly in sharmilee’s blog. I got attracted by this title & tried it on the same day.It was very nice.Thanku so much sharmilee :). Now i am posting this for my future reference.Sure kids would love this..

INGREDIENTS :

• Left over idlies – 5 nos  ( cube cut )
• Big onion – 1 no (finely chopped)
• Tomato – 2 nos (-do-)
• Green chilly - 1 no ( finely chopped)
• Capsicum - 1/2 no
• Red chilly powder– 1/2 tsp
• Dhania powder - 1/2 tsp
• Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
• Salt  – As needed.

To temper :

• Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
• Urad dal – 1 tsp
• Channa dal – 1 tsp
• Curry leaves – a few

To garnish :
Coriander leaves - few

METHOD:

• Heat a kadai with 2 tbsp of oil and  shallow fry the cube cut idly pieces.( u can also deep fry)Set aside.
• In the same kadai, add a tbsp of oil and temper the items given above.
• Now add the  chopped onion , saute well.Add green chilly ,curry leaves & capsicum pieces.Saute well.
• Then add tomato pieces and saute till it becomes mushy.
• Finally add  red chilly powder , turmeric powder , garam masala powder & salt. Mix well.
• Now add the shallow fried idlies and toss well .

Garnish with coriander leaves and enjoy eating hot !!

NOTE 

In the actual recipe, the idlies are deep fried .But for health concern, i shallow fried the idlies.For kids , u can deep dry & do.So its ur choice of making it.

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PULI UPMA USING BROKEN RICE

I learnt this from my MIL. Its a very tasty one pot meal recipe.I usually make it for dinner.I use noi arisi ( broken rice ) to prepare this upma. Its available in all grocery stores. If u don’t get this rice, u can just break the raw rice by running in the mixie once or twice. No side dish is needed. If neede it can be served with chopped onions. It can be made in jiffy.Apt for bachelors and working women!

Puli upma recipe

Puli upma recipe using broken rice/Noi arisi

Cuisine: Indian

Category: Dinner

Serves: Serves 2-3

Prep time: 5 Minutes

Cook time: 15 Minutes

Total time: 20 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 200ml Broken rice / Noi – 1 cup (If you don;t get broken rice,Grind raw rice in a mixie, just pulse it twice) Tamarind - A big gooseberry size ( soak & extract ) Turmeric powder – A pinch Salt – As needed. Water – 2.5 cups To temper Mustard seeds – 1 tsp Urad dal – 2 tsp Chana dal-1.5 tsp Curry leaves – A few Red chillies – 4 nos ( adjust) Hing / Asafetida – 3 - 4 pinches

METHOD

In a cooker base, add oil and temper the mustard seeds followed by urad & chana dal , pinched red chillies & hing. In a bowl , soak the tamarind in warm water  for 10 mins and take the extract using 2.5 sups of water mentioned above. ( if u take the extract with 1 cup of water, add the remaining 1.5 cups of water as it is.) Then add the tamarind extract to the cooker base and the turmeric powder & required salt. Add a dash of hing again. Add fresh curry leaves too. ( these two items adding at the end gives a spl flavor for this upma ) Now add the washed & drained rice into the cooker. Mix it well & close the lid.Keep it for 10-15 mins or 3 – 4 whistles. Once the steam is released , serve it hot. U can make the same in rice cooker too. For rice cooker,u need to add 3-3.5 cups of water.Enjoy eating hot topped with sesame oil.

Note

If u don’t have broken rice in hand,just grind the raw rice in mixie very coarsely. Run the mixie once or twice to break the rice.Then use as mentioned above. Adjust the quantity of red chillies based on ur spice level. Do not add more water than the mentioned quantity.Upma will become mushy.

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RAVA ROTI / SOOJI ROTI- EASY BREAKFAST RECIPES

I got this recipe from a website. I usually make dosa & upma with rava. I found this one very easy & can be made in jiffy.Tasted so good. Do try this.I am sure u’ll like it.

INGREDIENTS 
 1 cup - 200ml

• Semolina/Rava / Sooji -  1 cup
• Sour Curd – 1/4 cup ( OR 1/2 cup of buttermilk)
• Big onion – 1 no (Finely chopped )
• Green chilly – 1-2 no (-do-)
• Ginger – 1 inch piece (-do-)
• Curry leaves – a few (-do-)
• Coriander leaves – Few (-do-)
• Salt & water – As needed.

METHOD :

• Mix all the ingredients given above in a bowl. Add water to make the batter slightly thicker than idly batter.
• Now in a dosa tawa , pour the batter & spread it with ur hands or spatula. ( if u find difficult to spread , add more water.)
• Drizzle little oil around it.Cover & cook for sometime.
• Flip it & cook for some more time.

Enjoy with the chutney of ur choice..

For variations u can also use sour buttermilk instead of curd & water ..

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PALAK PANEER – SINDHI STYLE

I tried this from Mallika badrinath’s cookbook.It tasted excellent and easy to prepare. Its a nice combo for roti  & naan..

INGREDIENTS 

• SPINACH/ PALAK bunches – 2  nos (medium size ) or 2 cups of leaves.
• Paneer – 1/2 cup
• Butter or  Ghee or oil – 2 tbsp

To grind

• Big onion – 2 nos.
• Tomato – 4 nos
• Green chilly – 3 - 5 nos
• Ginger – 1 inch piece
• Coriander leaves – 1/4 bunch
• Curry leaves – a few
• Cardamom – 1 no
• Cloves – 2 nos
• Cinnamon stick – 1 inch length
• Grated coconut – 1 tbsp
• Khus khus / poppy seeds – 1/2 tsp
• Dhaniya powder – 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
• Jeera / cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp

Fresh cream or malai ( Milk skin/paalaadai) - 1 tbsp

METHOD

• Wash & chop the spinach leaves .Heat oil in a kadai and saute the leaves till it shrinks and cook well..set aside.
• Grind all the ingredients given under "to grimd"  to a smooth paste and finally add the cooked palak .. Grind smoothly and set aside.
• Heat a kadai with ghee / oil and add the ground paste. Saute till the raw smell disappears.
• Take the paneer cubes and put it in boiling water for 15 mins.Put the paneer cubes in the masala and add little water.
• Cover cook for sometime stirring in between.
• Switch off the flame and add few drops of lime juice and a tbsp of cream . Mix well & serve..

Enjoy hot with roti, naan ..
WISH U ALL A VERY HAPPY & PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR  :)

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RAVA LADOO - SOUTH INDIAN RAVA LADDU WITHOUT MILK, COCONUT

My MIL is an expert in making Rava ladoo without using milk and coconut (Semolina ladoo in English). Generally South Indians make rava laddu for special occasions at home. People make this sooji ladoo just by using roasted rava. But my MIL makes it different from the usual method. Just because of this variation my husband loves this ladoo a lot. I’ve tried this rava laddu for many occasions. Its a fool proof recipe. It never went wrong. Try this and let me know friends :) I am bad in shaping the ladoos. So please bear with the irregular shapes;) Ok, lets see how to prepare rava laddu with step by step pictures.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup - 250ml

Rava/Sooji/Semolina – 1 cup Sugar – 3/4 cup (Use 1 cup if u want more sweetness) Elachi / Cardamom seeds – 3 to 4 nos (powdered) Ghee – 4 - 5 tbsp ( add little by little ) Cashews – 8 to 10 nos (break into pieces)

METHOD

Dry roast the rava till nice aroma arises. Make sure the color of rava doesn’t change. In a mixie powder the rava , sieve it. Powder the sugar & sieve it . Mix them well. Now add the roasted cashews and elachi powder . Mix well. Add the melted ghee little by little and mix well. Stop the ghee when you are able to make a ball. Make even sized balls out of it and store in an air tight container. Enjoy !!

U can add milk and reduce ghee to make laddus. But the shelf life will be reduced.

(OLD PIC)

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Garlic Kara Pori Recipe - Spicy Murmura Recipe - Spicy Puffed Rice With Garlic - Easy Snacks Recipes

Kara pori / Spicy puffed rice/ spicy murmura with garlic is our family favourite snack recipe which I learnt from my MIL. I usually make this with leftover/soggy puffed rice we buy for Saraswathi pooja. Its a very simple,easy to make,low calorie and tasty snacks recipe which can be eaten all through the day without guilty. Lets see how to make this spicy puffed rice recipe with garlic. Soon I will share a no garlic masala kara pori recipe.
Do check out my Beach style kara pori recipe here .

Kara pori/Spicy puffed rice recipe

Kara pori recipe - Spicy puffed rice recipe with garlic flavor

Cuisine: Indian

Category: snacks

Serves: Serves 2

Prep time: 5 Minutes

Cook time: 5 Minutes

Total time: 10 Minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 cup - 250ml Puffed rice/Murmura/Pori - 2 cups Ghee - 1 tbsp Roasted peanuts and fried gram dal - a fistful ( optional) Curry leaves - few Sambar powder - 1 tsp   Salt - a pinch Turmeric powder - 1/8 tsp Garlic cloves - 7 nos (crushed slightly with skin) Roasted peanuts & fried gram dal - a handful ( optional)

METHOD

Take a wide mouthed kadai and add a tbsp of ghee.Spread it all over the pan.When it becomes hot,add the peanut and dal ( If adding ), Curry leaves, sambar powder,  salt, turmeric powder and slightly crushed garlic flakes ( no need to peel the skin)..Fry everything for a moment in low to medium flame.Do not burn them.Nice aroma arises. Now add the puffed rice, toss it till its coated uniformly and switch off the flame. Mix it well with the fire off and allow the puffed rice to remain in the kadai for sometime to become crispy.( Note: If u try to eat it hot, puffed rice will be soggy & soft.It will become crispy only after it cools down). For variations, you can use 3/4 tsp red chilli powder + 1/8 tsp turmeric powder. You can also use leftover soggy puffed rice. No need to use crispy puffed rice/ murmura. U can store this pori in an air tight box after its cool down completely and enjoy for few days with coffee/Tea.

Note

You can skip garlic and make it as a no garlic version. But i feel garlic adds more flavor to this recipe.My husband likes to eat garlic with skin.But I remove the skin while eating.Finally its ur choice! Use ghee for tempering. Do not avoid it.

Crispy , yummy , delicious kara pori is ready to Enjoy with tea / coffee :)

Technorati Tags: Kara pori recipe,Spicy puffed rice,Spicy murmura,Murmura recipe,Khara pori,Easy snacks recipes,Snacks recipes

Very good recipes Tags: Kara pori recipe, Spicy puffed rice, Spicy murmura, Murmura recipe, Khara pori, Easy snacks recipes, Snacks recipes

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MULLANGI THOGAYAL | RADISH RECIPES

I wanted to try thogayal with mullangi for a long time.We all usually make sambar , poriyal & roti . I tried this way to make thogayal . It tasted yummy when mixed with plain rice & ghee.I dint find the raw smell at all.Try this ladies !! I am sure u’ll love it..

INGREDIENTS :

• Radish – 2 nos (medium sized)
• Red chilly – 4 - 5 nos
• Tamarind – Small gooseberry size
• Urad dal – 1.5 tsp
• Ginger – 1/4 inch piece ( cut into small pieces )
• Salt & water – as needed.
• Cooking oil – As needed.

METHOD :

• Peel the skin & grate the radish.Saute radish with ginger in 1 tbsp of oil till it gets cooked . Saute in low flame .Then remove & set aside.
• Roast the red chilly & urad dal with hing using 1 tbsp of oil.
• Grind everything with tamarind, salt & water.

Mix with hot plain rice topped with ghee and enjoy !!

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VAZHAKKAI PULI KOOTU / RAW BANANA KOOTU - KOOTU RECIPES

INGREDIENTS 

• Raw banana – 1 no
• Toor dal – 1.5 tsp
• Tamarind – small gooseberry size
• Sambar powder – 1 tsp ( adjust )
• Salt & water – As needed

To temper 

• Coconut oil or cooking oil - 2 tsp
• Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
• Urad dal – 1/2 tsp
• Chana dal – 1/2 tsp
• Grated Coconut – 1 tbsp
• Hing – 1/4 tsp
• Curry leaves – Few

Coconut oil – 1 tsp 

METHOD 

• Pressure Cook toor dal and set aside.
• Cut the raw banana into small cubes and allow it to cook with sambar powder, salt & required water.
• When it is done, add the  tamarind extract , toor dal and boil for sometime.
• Temper the mustard seeds , urad & chana dal , hing and grated coconut. Roast the coconut well and add all the tempered items to the gravy /kootu.
• Finally add a tsp of coconut oil for additional flavor.
• Mix with plain rice topped with ghee or serve as an accompaniment for sambar rice. Enjoy !!

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TIRUNELVELI HALWA / GODHUMAI HALWA - DIWALI SWEET RECIPES

Being a native of tirunelveli , i had an eye on this halwa for a long time . For this diwali i thought, i should make something that i never tried so far. At last my search ended up with this halwa. I referred this video  ( 3 PARTS ARE THERE) & this blog for the recipe. I too made some changes.It was a huge success at home. Halwa looked glossy and tasted as we get in “Iruttukadai “. Of course, its very difficult to reproduce the same at home because Nellai people used to say, the taste of halwa is due to the use of thamirabarani river water and the original recipe is kept secret :). But I followed the video and tried to bring its taste close to the original halwa. I am happy with this recipe. Though its a time consuming process , its worth the effort..Please go through the Notes section for some tips..

INGREDIENTS 
1 cup - 200ml

• Whole Wheat / Samba godhumai -  1 cup
• Sugar – 2.5 - 3 cups
• Ghee – 2 cups
• Roasted cashews – 15 nos ( break into two halves)
• Water – 6 cups + extra for grinding the soaked whole wheat.
• Food color - few drops ( optional)

METHOD 

• Soak the whole wheat berries over nite or for 8 hrs.
• Drain the water and grind to make  a smooth paste by adding water. It took half an hour to grind completely.( i used grinder) No matter how much water u add here for grinding.
• Remove and take the extract by filtering it twice or thrice.U’ll get a white milk .
• Take the milk in a wide bowl , close and allow it to ferment for 10hrs.
• The next day u’ll c a layer of water getting separated. Without disturbing the sediment , just drain the water in the top.
• U’ll get a thick milk around 1.5 cups.
• Now add 6 cups of water as i mentioned in the ingredients and mix well.
• Add the sugar and take the mixture in a deep , wide  bowl.
• Stir the sugar till it dissolves in the wheat milk mixed with water and allow it to boil.
• It takes nearly 50 mins – 1hr to get cooked. keep in a medium flame and make sure it don't get burnt.Stir for every 3 mins. U can cover & cook .
• At one stage u’ll find the halwa starts to leave the sides , turns glossy and non sticky.
• Now add the roasted cashews.By the time the halwa gets cooked , the color will be changed automatically. If needed, add few drops of food color too.
• Add ghee little by little say 2 tbsp . As soon as u add the ghee, u’ll find it easy to stir but after some minutes halwa absorbs all the ghee and solidifies making it difficult to stir.
• Again add little ghee.Continue the same process . At one stage ,  the halwa starts to ooze out the ghee it took. At this time stop adding ghee and remove the ghee ( it oozes out ) in a separate bowl. Mix well and collect all the ghee.The halwa starts to rotate holding the ladle. This is the final step.Switch off the stove and allow the halwa to be in the same bowl. This helps thickening of halwa .
• Transfer it to an air tight container after it cools down. Reheat the halwa  in MW and njoy if u wanna eat it hot :)

Delicious tirunelveli halwa is ready to enjoy !!

NOTES 

Here i’ve combined the method i saw in the video & blog. Actually the procedure is to make a sugar syrup of one thread consistency before adding the wheat milk.This helps to quicken the process of cooking.But i followed what’s mentioned in that video. In that video , he has mentioned to add the ghee and remove immediately. But the thing is u’ve to add all the ghee little by little and stir till the ghee comes out back.This is the correct procedure i feel.Its missed in the video.Also the sugar quantity he said is more.Please add the amount i’ve given here.Sweet lovers , add little more. Instead of adding 2 cups of ghee  , u can replace half of the ghee by dalda/vanaspathi. ( but its better to add ghee in health point of view ) U can use the collected ghee for making other sweets or in ur daily cooking.No need to waste it. The point is the halwa should slide down when u take in a spoon . please take care not to over cook it. For this measurement , u’ll get nearly 3/4 kg of halwa. Total preparation time for this halwa would be around 1 hr 15 mins.

TAKE CARE , CATCH U ALL IN MY NEXT POST:)

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