Manoharam is a traditional South Indian sweet dish kept in marriages, Seemandham and naming ceremony as seer bakshanam. It is popularly known as Paruppu thengai among Tamil Brahmins. Paruppu thengai koodu is very well decorated and kept for display in most of the occasions.Paruppu thengai koodu is basically a pair of conical shaped containers filled with a variety of nuts like ground nuts, cashew nuts or fried gram dal/ pottukadalai rolled in jaggery syrup or its filled with this Manoharam sweet. I still remember my MIL made this paruppu thengai with pottukadalai for my valaikaapu function.
Manoharam is made with fried murukku/thenkuzhal rolled in thick jaggery syrup (Vella paagu) flavored with cardamom powder or Dry ginger powder (Sukku podi). Many people make it as manoharam balls during Karthigai deepam festival. In Tirunelveli, apart from Iruttukadai Halwa, Manoharam is also a very popular sweet dish. We call it as “Manavalam” colloquially. Last year a reader asked me to share Tirunelveli manoharam recipe during Diwali. As I had completely forgotten its taste, I couldn’t try and post it.
Recently I told my Appa to get a pack of Manoharam from Tirunelveli. After tasting it, I got an idea about it and tried at home by watching the Youtube video by Ponna mami. It came out very well with a nice flavor of dry ginger powder. Its an addictive snack. I can much it all through the day !! I found varieties like Kerala Manoharam and Chettinad Manoharam recipes which are different in ingredients and procedure as well. Soon I must try them too. Today lets see how to make Tirunelveli Manoharam recipe with step by step photos !
Check out my other Tirunelveli special recipes HERE
Tirunelveli Manoharam recipe
How to make Tirunelveli Manoharam recipe - a most popular snack !
First lets prepare the murukku.For this, sieve besan and rice flour in a wide bowl.
Add salt, hot oil and ghee to the flour. Mix well. Then add water little by little and make a dough. I made the dough very sticky as shown in the original recipe. So it was very easy to squeeze.
Take the murukku press and use a single hole or three holed mould. Grease the press with oil. Fill the dough and set aside.
Now heat oil to deep fry and drop a pinch of dough.If it rises to the top immediately, oil is hot. Now simmer the flame and squeeze the murukku either in a circular manner or as a straight line. Don’t worry about the shape because we are going to break them into pieces. Cook both the sides till bubbles cease. Do not fry in high flame, murukku will turn dark. So fry it patiently. Remove in a paper towel. Deep fry all the batches. Let it cool down completely.
Take the powdered jaggery, sugar and water in a kadai. Mix & melt it. Strain the syrup if needed. Let the syrup roll boil and reaches soft ball consistency. To check this, take some syrup and pour it in a plate with water. Gather the syrup and try to make a soft ball. It is called soft ball consistency. Switch off the flame. Add dry ginger powder and mix well.
Now break the cooled murukku into pieces ( make small pieces if you are making balls,else break them roughly) and add them to the jaggery syrup. Mix well. Make sure all murukku pieces are coated with the syrup. Make balls when it becomes warm enough Or Remove in a plate and let it cool. They look cluttered, remove them carefully and keep it in a plate. Serve & enjoy !
Note
The consistency of jaggery syrup is more important.It should be in soft ball consistency or even slight hard ball is fine else the syrup won’t coat well.
Dry ginger powder adds a nice flavor. It aids digestion too. So don’t skip it.
You can use soft butter instead of ghee.
Try this yummy, addictive Manoharam snack at home and enjoy !
Every year during Diwali, I wanted to share some Bengali sweets.This year too, I tried Rasgolla recipe at home but it din’t turn up as I expected. It came out soft, spongy but became little bit flat after taking out from the sugar syrup. So I am planning to try it again by correcting my mistakes. I hope I could make a perfect rasgolla very soon and share it in my space. As I had storebought, readymade rasgulla at home, I wanted to make a rich dessert recipe with it. What else other than this yummy rasmalai recipe. Traditional, authentic rasmalai calls for boiling milk & sugar for hours. But this is an easy, instant recipe with just 2 major ingredients. I had some store bought condensed milkand rasagulla in hand. So I made it quickly under 10 minutes. If you have store bought or homemade left over rasagolla, you can make this rich, creamy, yummilicious Indian dessert with milk in the next few minutes. I guess milk powder also works well instead of condensed milk. Friends, Do include this easy sweet recipe in your Diwali 2016 menu and have a great celebration ! Lets see how to make this easy peasy Bengali delicacy, Rasmalai recipe at home with step by step photos !
If you wish to make condensed milk on your own, check out this link.
Chopped nuts - A handful ( I used cashews, badam and pista)
Kewra essence - few drops (optional)
Crushed cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp or Rose water - few drops
Saffron threads - Few
METHOD
In a wide mouthed kadai, take the boiled milk and condensed milk.Mix well and boil for 5 minutes. Keep the flame medium. Collect the milk skin( Malai) that settles in the sides of kadai and add to milk.Now check for taste and add more condensed milk if needed. Mix well and boil for a minute.In the mean time, chop the nuts and set aside.
Add the chopped nuts, few saffron threads, essence & cardamom powder/ rose water. Stir well and switch off the flame. Take the rasgolla and press it gently using your hands to drain the water in it.Do not squeeze hard, it may break. Make it flat and add to the milk mixture. Refrigerate for an hour and serve ! Quick and Easy rasmalai is ready to indulge !!
Enjoy….
Note
Add more condensed milk if you have sweet tooth.
Add more or lesser quantity of nuts as per your wish.
If you don’t have condensed milk in hand, boil 2.5 cups of milk till it reduces to half, add the required sugar, mix well and add the essence and nuts. This is the authentic version of making rasmalai.
Try this Instant, Easy Rasmalai recipe at home and enjoy !!
Last year I shared Gulab jamun recipe with khoya. As it came out very well, I got the confidence to try Gulab jamun with other options. Khoya is not easily available in many places. So Milk powder is the best replacement for khoya to prepare Gulab jamun.
Recently my reader friend Harini asked me to share milk powder gulab jamun recipe and Gulab jamun with Instant store bought mix as well. As I had bookmarked this recipe already, I tried it yesterday. Milk powder, Fine semolina ( Chiroti rava), maida, milk are the major ingredients used in this recipe. Its easy to make too. It came out really well in my first attempt itself.
The author of this recipe had given the instructions very clearly which helped me a lot to make perfect Gulab jamun. Thank you so much Savita for the great recipe. I was very happy to see my soft, crack free, well soaked Gulab jamun in sugar syrup. I don’t say it doubled in size but it did puff up. I have shared step by step photos, tips for trouble shooting and a cooking video for beginners understanding. Hope you will try it for this Diwali and share your feedback with me. Lets see how to make yummy Gulab jamun recipe with milk powder & semolina.
Fine Semolina / Chiroti Rava - 1 tbsp ( Must use fine rava)
Baking Powder - 1/4 tsp
Unmelted Ghee - 1 tbsp ( thick ghee)
Cooking oil - 1/2 tbsp ( Use flavorless oil)
Milk - As needed ( I used 1 tbsp)
Water - 1.5 tbsp ( To soak semolina)
Cooking oil – To deep fry
For Sugar syrup
Sugar - 1 cup
Water - 1.5 cups
Saffron threads - few
Crushed Cardamom seeds - 2 nos Or Rose essence - few drops
METHOD
Take the fine semolina ( Chiroti rava) in a small bowl and add 1.5 tbsp water to cover it. Let it soak well for 10 minutes. No problem if there is excess water slightly. Mix well and keep it aside. In a wide bowl, take the milk powder.Add ghee and cooking oil. Mix well with your fingers. Make sure fat is well distributed with the milk powder.
To this mixture, add baking powder, maida and soaked semolina. Mix well with your fingers. Do not give too much pressure. Just mix gently. Now the mixture will resemble Pea sized granules. Then add boiled, room temperature milk little by little and try to gather the mixture to resemble a dough. Do not use your palm and knead it. Use your fingers alone( I added 1 tbsp milk). Dough would be very sticky at this stage. Do not panic. Just cover the dough with a cloth ( Dry cloth, not wet ones) and rest it for 10 minutes.
In a mean time, lets prepare the sugar syrup.In a deep bowl or kadai, mix sugar + water. Mix well in high flame till sugar melts completely. Then reduce the flame to medium and let the syrup roll boil for 5 minutes. Add cardamom powder or rose essence and saffron thread in the middle. Sugar syrup will become sticky to touch and resembles oil in consistency. Switch off the flame and keep aside. It will become warm.
Now take the gulab jamun dough. It would be non-sticky to touch. Make small pinches roughly to make balls. Then shape the balls smoothly without cracks( This point is more important to get crack free gulab jamuns) Cover it with a cloth till use.
If you think, dough sticks much to your hand, grease your palm with ghee OR wash your hands in water, wipe it dry and roll it. It will come out well. Just make sure there are no cracks. Do not roll it tightly. Do it gently. If you roll it too tight, jamuns may become hard.
Heat oil in a kadai and keep the flame low to medium. When it gets heated, drop a pinch of dough, it should rise slowly and come to top without browning in a count of 5 ( I followed Savita’s instructions and counted up to 5. If the heat of oil is too less, gulab jamun will disperse in oil. If the temperature is high, its color would change quickly but it remains uncooked inside.So please be careful) Now stir the oil once and add the jamun balls. ( If you are a beginner, do a small test. i.e Heat little oil in a mini tadka pan and drop a small peanut sized dough ball. Check whether it disperses in oil, comes out hard etc. Deep fry it, open and check it is properly cooked. After doing this test, proceed for further deep frying) .Do not disturb the jamun for 10 seconds. Then stir the oil without breaking the jamun. Keep stirring the oil and toss the gulab jamun so that it will get cooked evenly with a nice golden color. Keep the flame low to medium. It should be soft after frying and not too hard. Please refer the video for better understanding.
Remove the cooked gulab jamun in a tissue paper and drop it in the syrup. Syrup should be warm not too cold. Let it soak for 2-3 hours to enjoy its best taste ! It looks shiny and soft after soaking well. This Gulab jamun stays good for 2 days without refrigeration. Enjoy !
Note
Gulab jamun will disperse in oil if the oil temperature is too low.
Gulab Jamun will become chewy if you add less baking powder.
No need to add soda for this recipe.
Fine semolina is a must. Do not use coarse ones.
Beginners try with half the quantity of ingredients mentioned to avoid wastage.
I have not used lemon juice in the sugar syrup as I have added more water. It won’t crystallize.
For this Navratri, I din’t try any new sundal variety. As I have kept Golu in my house, I was busy in inviting guest, giving thamboolam and other household works. So I prepared Green gram sweet sundal, Green gram masala sundal, Badam burfi, Black chana sundal, sweet corn sundal, Rava kesari and Sweet pongal in these 7 days. This morning I prepared Kadalai paruppu Sundal keeping Saraswathi Pooja/Ayudha poojai celebration in mind.
My MIL usually makes Chana sundal i.e Konda Kadalai sundal (In Tamil) along with 5 rice varieties and Vada whereas my mom makes Kadalai paruppu sundal / Bengal gram sundal adding more coconut. As my dad is not fond of chickpeas sundal, mom makes either Kadala paruppu sundal or paasi paruppu sundal(Moong dal sundal) for neivedyam. Its a very easy, quick and no soaking sundal variety. When we forget to soak the legumes, this kadala paruppu sundal will come to rescue. Its healthy as well.You can use the cooked dal water to make rasam or drink it as a soup. Fine, lets see how to make South Indian style Kadalai paruppu sundal / Bengal gram sundal with coconut.
Do check out my other Sundal varieties in this link !
Kadalai paruppu sundal / Bengal gram dal sundal recipe
How to make Kadalai paruppu/ Bengal gram dal sundal recipe - Easy, no soaking sundal variety for Navrarti !
Green chillies - 1 no ( slitted or finely chopped)
HOW TO MAKE KADALAI PARUPPU SUNDAL - METHOD
Wash and take the dal in the cooker base. Add enough water ( I used 2 cups) and pressure cook for 2-3 whistles in very low flame. Kadalai paruppu won’t become mushy very easily. So It would be perfectly cooked in low flame in just 2 whistles. Remove the lid after the steam is released. Check whether it mashes in your finger. Drain the excess water if any and use it for making rasam or dal soup. Make sure you keep 1 tbsp of water in the dal.
In a kadai, heat oil and splutter mustard seeds, urad dal, cumin seeds. Add slitted or finely chopped green chillies, curry leaves & hing. Saute for a minute. Add the cooked dal along with the little water in the cooker. Add the required salt, Mix well & boil till all the water evaporates. Mix it gently without mashing the dal. Lastly add the grated coconut, give a quick stir & switch off the flame. Remove from the kadai & transfer it to a vessel. Offer to God & serve ! This sundal will become grainy once it starts to cool down. So do not panic if it looks slightly mushy while hot.
Enjoy !
Do check out my other Sundal varieties in this link !
Note
Use finely chopped chillies for spicy taste. I use slit chillies.
You can also use finely chopped ginger if you like its flavor.
Optionally, you can garnish this sundal with coriander leaves.
Add more coconut for rich taste.
Easy, quick and healthy Kadalai paruppu sundal is ready to offer GOD and serve !
Yesterday I made badam burfi recipe with milk for Navratri neivedyam and distributed it to my guests. Everybody loved it very much. Badam burfi (Almond burfi in English) is an easy, healthy, melt in mouth burfi recipe. It is known as Badam katli in Hindi. Its Ingredients and the method of preparation is very similar to Kaju katli.
Last year I had shared Kaju badam burfi ( Almond cashew burfi) during Diwali for beginners. Procedure of making this badam barfi is slightly different. But its a very easy and fool proof recipe just like kaju badam burfi. Even though it takes time to prepare this burfi, its really worthy. Mixing and stirring is the major work here. I have used milk for grinding badam. You can use water too. No need to worry about sugar syrup consistency and no need to use more ghee. Its totally a beginners recipe. However we should be conscious towards the end of cooking to avoid mistakes.
I adapted this recipe from Nisha madhuilka ji's website and used more sugar and milk than the mentioned quantity. Just follow the steps, video, tips & tricks I have shared in this post. I am sure you can make a perfect melt in mouth badam burfi. If you are a beginner, try half the quantity given in the recipe.
For variations, you can use almond powder ( Almond flour/Almond meal), coconut, cashews and even carrot. Diwali is not too far. Do bookmark this easy sweet recipe and try it out. Ok, Lets see how to prepare badam barfi at home easily with step by step photos and a video !
Badam burfi - Full video !
Badam burfi recipe
Badam burfi recipe - Easy badam katli for beginners
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp Or saffron threads - few
Ghee - 1 tbsp + few drops for greasing the plate
HOW TO MAKE BADAM BURFI - METHOD
Take a plate and grease it with ghee. To blanch badam quickly, boil 3 cups of water. When the water roll boils, add the badam. Let it boil for a minute. Switch off the flame and cover it with a lid. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
Drain the badam and add to the cold water. Skin will come off easily. Keep all the blanched badam in the plate. Grind Sugar to fine powder and set aside. In the same jar, grind badam to a coarse paste without adding milk. Wipe the sides of jar and add 1/2 cup of milk. Grind to a paste.Wipe the sides of mixer.
Check if the badam paste is smooth without any grits. If not, add 1/4 cup more milk and grind it well. Remember adding more milk while grinding takes ling time to make burfi. So add milk little by little while grinding.
Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a good non-stick kadai. Add the ground badam paste and powdered sugar. Mix well in medium flame. Stay nearby and keep mixing. Flame should be low to medium. Initially, the mixture will become thin as the sugar melts. Add the cardamom powder & keep stirring. The mixture will start to thicken. Mixture will bubble vigorously. It may splash. So please be careful. Keep the flame low if it splashes. Keep stirring because the bottom layer may burn quickly.
Keep mixing till the mixture becomes thick.Wipe the sides of the pan every time while u mix.It will take nearly 10-20 minutes to start thickening. Small bubbles will appear in the corners. When you keep on mixing, mixture turns thicker and it will start to leave the sides of pan. Wipe the sides & again mix it. At one stage, the mixture will become really thick and resembles a soft dough.
At that time, switch off the flame and mix for few seconds. Grease your fingers with ghee and take a pinch from the dough.Try to make a small ball. If you are able to make a soft, round ball, your burfi is done. Give a quick stir and make it even more slightly thick. The heat of kadai is sufficient to make your mixture thick.
Do not stir for more time. Mixture will become crumbly and you will not be able to shape it properly. If you remove it before the correct stage, it will taste like halwa. So try to make a small ball and then remove it at the right time.
Transfer the burfi mixture to the greased plate. If you wish, you can knead it using your hands after it turns slightly warm. But I directly made the shape by levelling it with rolling pin. For this, Cover the dough with a butter paper and level the mixture using a rolling pin.Roll it according to the thickness you need.
Remove the butter paper and cut the burfi into pieces using a ghee greased knife, when the mixture is warm. But do not try to remove the pieces when the mixture is warm. It may break. Take it after the burfi cools down completely. Store in a box. Stays good for 2 days at room temperature.
Enjoy !
Note
To find out whether the burfi is well set, after You levelled the burfi in tray with butter paper,try to remove the butter paper after 5 minutes.If it comes out clean,your burfi is perfect and you can make pieces & enjoy .If the butter paper doesn’t come out clean or if it sticks to the burfi mixture, then the right consistency is not reached and it becomes halwa. So transfer the mixture to the kadai, add little water, melt the mixture and again start mixing till you get it right !
Suppose if you over do the mixing and if burfi becomes crumbly, take the crumbled burfi in a mixie jar, add milk and make a smooth paste. Again keep it in flame and mix well till it reaches the right consistency...
Color of this burfi will improve over time.
Adding more sugar makes the burfi even more soft. I used 1:1.5 ratio of badam n sugar which is perfect for me. U can use 1:2 ratio too.
U can skip cardamom powder and use saffron soaked milk. But colour of burfi would change to yellow. This is known as kesar badam burfi.
Make & Enjoy this healthy, melt in mouth burfi at home !
. It came out soft, spongy but became little bit flat after taking out from the sugar syrup. So I am planning to try it again by correcting my mistakes. I hope I could make a perfect rasgolla very soon and share it in my space
. As I had storebought, readymade rasgulla at home, I wanted to make a rich dessert recipe with it. What else other than this yummy rasmalai recipe
. Traditional, authentic rasmalai calls for boiling milk & sugar for hours. But this is an easy, instant recipe with just 2 major ingredients. I had some store bought 
