February 23, 2011

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 u need.I have updated this recipe as per the suggestions given by an anonymous reader...If u 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 u 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.

February 17, 2011

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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February 15, 2011

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February 10, 2011

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.

February 4, 2011

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.